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Mary Sweeten's avatar

Is it possible that the ubiquity of bidets does in fact make French people (not to mention Italians) resistant to dealing with poop, um, by hand? Just asking.

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Theresa Conroy's avatar

Ha! Good thought. Unfortunately, bidets aren't as popular as they used to be. I wonder, too, what these people do with diapers!

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Ellen Gray's avatar

At least you don’t have a dog who’s constantly trying to eat other dogs’ poop. I’d never have otherwise realized just how many people don’t bother to scoop from the grass. But what really puzzles me are the ones who leave full poop bags on the sidewalk and just move on. I suspect that even the French wouldn’t do that.

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Theresa Conroy's avatar

Oh, man! That would be challenge.

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Robin Palley's avatar

Regarding the plastic bag thing, ironically, and Philly is an ink stained newspaper subscriber. I have an endless supply of the plastic bags the paper is delivered in that I distribute to all my dog owner friends.

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Theresa Conroy's avatar

We always used those bags!

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Wendy R. Lewis's avatar

Is there irony in the French’s love of perfume and their denial of the stench of 💩?

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Suzanne Rosado's avatar

As a dog mom, I find myself scooping other dogs’ poop if there’s some near our pile. If I knowingly leave another’s mess, am I just as guilty?!

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Ron  Avery's avatar

You made me smile and I rarely do. Ron Avery

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Theresa Conroy's avatar

I'm so glad!

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Valérie Helmbreck Mascitti's avatar

There is in fact a fine, a fairly steep one that’s been in effect about 20 years. Not picking up your dog’s poop will net you a €183 in most places in France, save Bergerac where the fine has reached €750 and Obernai (in northeast France) where unscooped shit will get you a €1000 amend. No, French people don’t pick up shit because it doesn’t look cool to shield your hand in a plastic bag and cradle warm from the animal feces. And we all know, the first rule of being French is to always and forever, look 😎 cool. All this being said, things are better here in Paris than they were when i first started haunting these streets — actually slip sliding down them on a veritable carpet of dog doo.

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Theresa Conroy's avatar

Yes, the sign in my post shows that we have a fine. They are everywhere. Meaningless unless it's enforced. But, man, €1000! Do you know how successful those high fines are?

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Valérie Helmbreck Mascitti's avatar

I think it takes a lot of money to get folks of any sort to do something they really don’t want to do. Like take public transport instead of driving a car or sort their recyclables. Enforcement of fines for doggie dung is sporadic and varies by town or commune. Here in Paris it’s been pretty effective for the most part and sidewalks are much cleaner than 20-30 years ago. But there are still folks who just won’t clean up after their dog and people who love to report them. But i think 1000€ is a scare tactic, like the fine threats we lived under during Covid confinements.

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