I tend to associate public urination with homeless people who have difficulties accessing facilities. But, the other day while walking through a suburb outside of Paris, I encountered two men peeing on the sidewalk. It was only 6pm and bright as day. Both men were within arms reach as I passed them and neither showed signs of being destitute. Furthermore, they were in residential areas. The first man was peeing at the corner of a park nonchalantly. The second man was a truck driver who had obviously pulled over to relieve himself, a few cars down from two women who were having a conversation next to their car. Why he thought peeing on an apartment building was acceptable is beyond me. In disgust, I asked the boyfriend about it, and he quipped, "Dogs pee on the sidewalk and men pee in the gutter." Don't worry, my boyfriend is house trained, but as for the rest of the male french population, I really cannot say. Dirty french indeed.
