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| With Tampons and Concrete, Vandals Plug Paris Urinals Denounced as Sexist | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| PARIS — When the city of Paris installed a new street urinal earlier this summer on the picturesque Île St.-Louis to tackle a longstanding problem with public urination, detractors called the bulky device ugly, unsanitary and too visible for comfort. | PARIS — When the city of Paris installed a new street urinal earlier this summer on the picturesque Île St.-Louis to tackle a longstanding problem with public urination, detractors called the bulky device ugly, unsanitary and too visible for comfort. |
| But the vandals who recently filled its opening with cement had a more passionate objection: They attacked it as an emblem of sexism. | But the vandals who recently filled its opening with cement had a more passionate objection: They attacked it as an emblem of sexism. |
| As of Thursday, the “eco-toilet” had been removed, leaving only graffiti of a clenched fist in a Venus symbol spray-painted onto a stone wall that overlooks the Seine river. It was one of two attacked over the past two weeks — not only plugged with cement but also plastered, to judge by pictures posted on social media, with tampons and protest stickers. | As of Thursday, the “eco-toilet” had been removed, leaving only graffiti of a clenched fist in a Venus symbol spray-painted onto a stone wall that overlooks the Seine river. It was one of two attacked over the past two weeks — not only plugged with cement but also plastered, to judge by pictures posted on social media, with tampons and protest stickers. |
| “Are you a dog? No? Then why are you urinating in the street?” said one sticker, while another suggested, in much cruder terms, that a man’s genitals were meant to be “put away,” not exposed in public. | “Are you a dog? No? Then why are you urinating in the street?” said one sticker, while another suggested, in much cruder terms, that a man’s genitals were meant to be “put away,” not exposed in public. |
| “Women who expose their breasts to breast-feed are asked to hide themselves,” a third sticker read. “Men who take out their genitals to urinate are subsidized by City Hall.” | “Women who expose their breasts to breast-feed are asked to hide themselves,” a third sticker read. “Men who take out their genitals to urinate are subsidized by City Hall.” |
| A similar urinal near the Gare de Lyon was also removed after vandalism, but others scattered across the city had yet to be targeted. | A similar urinal near the Gare de Lyon was also removed after vandalism, but others scattered across the city had yet to be targeted. |
| The police were investigating, but had yet to identify those responsible. Still, feminist activists said the vandals had made good points. | The police were investigating, but had yet to identify those responsible. Still, feminist activists said the vandals had made good points. |
| Chris Blache, who co-founded a think tank that works on gender and city planning, said that although she did not believe the city had set out to discriminate, the street urinals had sent an unintentional signal that women had fewer rights in public spaces than men. | Chris Blache, who co-founded a think tank that works on gender and city planning, said that although she did not believe the city had set out to discriminate, the street urinals had sent an unintentional signal that women had fewer rights in public spaces than men. |
| “This kind of urinal, clearly, can only be used by men — and not any kind of man either, because a child, a little boy can’t use them, and I’m not sure that an elderly man would be comfortable using them, either,” Ms. Blache said. “So there is an unfairness in the perception of what is authorized or not authorized to do in public.” | “This kind of urinal, clearly, can only be used by men — and not any kind of man either, because a child, a little boy can’t use them, and I’m not sure that an elderly man would be comfortable using them, either,” Ms. Blache said. “So there is an unfairness in the perception of what is authorized or not authorized to do in public.” |
| She said that while men had “very broad” freedom to do as they pleased, women were “constantly being called to order” on their attitude or their clothing in public. She noted that just this week, the French tennis player Alizé Cornet was assessed a code violation at the U.S. Open for briefly removing her top, violating rules that do not exist for men. | She said that while men had “very broad” freedom to do as they pleased, women were “constantly being called to order” on their attitude or their clothing in public. She noted that just this week, the French tennis player Alizé Cornet was assessed a code violation at the U.S. Open for briefly removing her top, violating rules that do not exist for men. |
| Like other major cities, Paris has struggled for years with public urination. With varying success, city officials have experimented with ways to discourage people from relieving themselves on the street, ranging from mirrors placed to shame offenders to hydrophobic paint that bounces urine back onto their shoes. | Like other major cities, Paris has struggled for years with public urination. With varying success, city officials have experimented with ways to discourage people from relieving themselves on the street, ranging from mirrors placed to shame offenders to hydrophobic paint that bounces urine back onto their shoes. |
| The city has also made public urination a civil offense, and has a dedicated force of agents who seek out people who degrade public spaces by urinating or by other means, like throwing cigarette butts on the ground. In 2017, more than 5,300 fines of up to 68 euros, or nearly $80, were handed out for public urination, about double the figure from the previous year, according to city statistics. | The city has also made public urination a civil offense, and has a dedicated force of agents who seek out people who degrade public spaces by urinating or by other means, like throwing cigarette butts on the ground. In 2017, more than 5,300 fines of up to 68 euros, or nearly $80, were handed out for public urination, about double the figure from the previous year, according to city statistics. |
| City officials point out that Paris has roughly 450 unisex bathrooms, 150 of them open day and night, far outnumbering the urinals deployed this spring and summer. | City officials point out that Paris has roughly 450 unisex bathrooms, 150 of them open day and night, far outnumbering the urinals deployed this spring and summer. |
| Olivier Fraisseix, the head of sanitation and water management at the Paris City Hall, acknowledged that the street urinals were designed for men, but he insisted that they were only one of many experiments that the city was trying out to tackle public urination, “which is invariably one of the main issues mentioned by Parisians when you ask them about cleanliness.” | Olivier Fraisseix, the head of sanitation and water management at the Paris City Hall, acknowledged that the street urinals were designed for men, but he insisted that they were only one of many experiments that the city was trying out to tackle public urination, “which is invariably one of the main issues mentioned by Parisians when you ask them about cleanliness.” |
| “There is a problem of quick, daily urinating in the street, and it is for the most part a masculine thing,” Mr. Fraisseix said, adding that if more men used the street urinals, the unisex bathrooms would be freed up for use by women. The street urinals, he said, were part of the answer, not a general solution. | “There is a problem of quick, daily urinating in the street, and it is for the most part a masculine thing,” Mr. Fraisseix said, adding that if more men used the street urinals, the unisex bathrooms would be freed up for use by women. The street urinals, he said, were part of the answer, not a general solution. |
| “We are testing everything; we are experimenting everything, because we are looking for solutions, and if the experimentation only fixes one part of the problem, we will rework it,” he said. | “We are testing everything; we are experimenting everything, because we are looking for solutions, and if the experimentation only fixes one part of the problem, we will rework it,” he said. |
| Still, feminists argued that the city should do more to develop unisex facilities and should work with cafes, hotels, museums and other public places to encourage women to use their restrooms. | Still, feminists argued that the city should do more to develop unisex facilities and should work with cafes, hotels, museums and other public places to encourage women to use their restrooms. |
| “I am well aware that men are the ones peeing in the street, and that we have to fix that problem,” said Ms. Blache. But street urinals, she said, “only further enshrine the idea that they are the ones who are legitimate in public spaces, not women.” | “I am well aware that men are the ones peeing in the street, and that we have to fix that problem,” said Ms. Blache. But street urinals, she said, “only further enshrine the idea that they are the ones who are legitimate in public spaces, not women.” |