Paris' Peeing Problem

In Paris, you better watch where you pee: an “elite” 88-member force called the Brigade des Incivilités—or “Bad Behaviour Brigade”--is in charge of catching people who unzip in public. They are plainclothes officers in unmarked cars who scours the streets for misbehaving civilians, ticketing people for everything from not picking up after their dogs to littering. Fines for public urination can be as high as $644. According to The Wall Street Journal, Paris “is still struggling with the presence of pipi,” as urine sauvage--or “wild urine”—is the hardest offense to curtail. Though the city has opened 400 self-cleaning public restrooms, they’re simply not enough. One Parisian architect even designed an “anti-pipi” wall, which splashes urine back onto the offender.