Merde! The Shitty Truth About Dog Poop in France

So, I’m coming back from the shops, and I see a woman ahead of me picking up after her dog. I can’t hold back – it’s such an unusual sight to see people scooping up dog poop in France.

“Madame, I want to give you a medal for doing that!” I exclaim.

Fortunately, I choose someone with both a sense of humor – and an honest view of the French on this matter. 

She laughs and then says, “It’s rare, I know. The question pops (poops?) up at every public meeting. But still, nothing much comes of it.”

“Why? What is the reason for such resistance?” 

She puts it down to “laziness”.

“Quite simply, French people are feignant. Now, we are starting to see some people clean up after their dogs. Simply because the city (hers, posh Le Raincy) is distributing the bags. I’ve been doing it for years personally.”

(Her dog is adorable, by the way, a Miniature Pinscher).

“You deserve three medals then!”

More laughter. 

What a contrast to just a couple of days before, when I saw a blonde woman walking her dog along this very street. Then, without flinching, stopping for it to do its devilish deeds on the footpath. Yep, right in the middle of the elegant sidewalk for people to sidestep – or not. It’s gruesome.

Dog Poop In France: A Public Health Hazard – And Eyesore Galore

People get injured, for heaven’s sake, due to the dog shit. People even end up in hospital after slipping in it. It’s a public nuisance – and a public hazard … And it’s downright awful. Why do the French live with this? Or don’t they find it awful?

All that because of laziness? Really … I don’t know. Education – or lack of it – plays a big hand too.

What happened to Chirac’s bid in the 80s to make dog owners responsible? Apparently, it failed “to persuade them to overcome their disgust at their pets’ excrement.”

So, a century after the dog poop that “plastered” Parisian pavements “provoked embarrassment” according to one study,are the French in dog shit denial?

Is it an issue too delicate for French politesse to handle, so they turn their heads instead and let their dogs’ laissez-faire loose.

Germans, during the Nazi occupation of Paris, were supposedly appalled and offended. So much so they almost turned away in disgust (I know, shame they didn’t). Yet the threat of “sullying France’s international reputation” wasn’t enough to do something serious about it. Either then or now.

French Insouciance – and Incivility – On Dog Poop

For German sociologist Norbert Elias, the defecating dogs in Paris were a sign of an uncivilised, backward society … And of a total lack of restraint. For many others from the UK to Ireland, “dog fouling” is an outward symbol of poor governance and urban disorder.

Either way, it’s a shitty affair. Is there finally an end in sight? Just maybe. A couple of crusading mayors are raising the stakes by taking things into their own hands. (Well, not literally) … And imposing huge – €1,000 plus fines – on what boils down to horrendous incivility. One guy even got killed recently for daring to point out such unsociable behaviour to one of his neighbours.

For two decades, I’ve been dextrously dodging doggy doings in France. Right since my very first day in Strasbourg back in 1996 when I only just managed to duck disaster by stepping over the biggest poop I’ve ever seen – on the Avenue Général de Gaulle (with all of its noble overtones).

It looked more like a horse had been that way. And I rightly took it as an omen of things to come. Something in that lofty street name – and in the shitty mess I was encountering everywhere – hinted at a chronic connection between the French and a doggy do debacle.

And What About Public Education – And Fines – For Defecating Dogs (Or At Least For Their Owners)

On the way over all those years ago – on the Air France flight – our meals were rudely interrupted by a rather unpalatable ad – showing a man squatting in a garden about to do his business. With the message: “You wouldn’t do this, so why do you let your dogs?”

That was in the 90s. And barely anything has changed since. That kind of behavioural message has been remarkably absent in every other walk of life since – and it has clearly been a total flop.

I know some people may take their pooches on board – but it seemed an odd place for educating people about this problem … And then nothing more … Until, that is, quite recently.  

The Shitty Life: Dog Poop In France

Still, in my neck of the woods in the Paris suburbs, I’ve noticed things getting worse, not better, over the past months. On the Allée de la Dhuys – an old aqueduct route and the only green space in my area – I’m back to artful dodging. It’s quite nauseating – having to confront shit everywhere while out for a stroll.

Not that I’m not used to it by now – but should I have to be? Where are the campaigns? Where are the signs? They are absent in my ville. 

But on a recent trip back to Strasbourg, I was delighted to find the following signs in gardens and parks. And along boulevards and avenues. The Strasbourgeois are not the only ones cleaning up their act … But they are ahead of the curve on green matters generally. 

 

Waging A Battle Against Crottes de Chien: Dog Poop France

In France, it’s only just the educative beginning on dog poop decorum. You really have to point out the pooping spot – and the correct conduct – to people. And this civil education is having varying degrees of success … often, it’s a total failure.

Fed up with the avalanches of canine droppings polluting the town, authorities in the town of Buhl, Alsace, called on kids to help with an awareness campaign among dog owners. The results – their works of art – are being displayed around the city.

The city hall notes the problem escalated at the start of the Covid crisis, with more people out and about walking their dogs. So, one public health crisis added to another. Or rather, it deepened an age-old crisis in France.

In Paris, it really depends on the quartier you are in. Chic or pas. When it comes to public education. And which neighbourhood, too, as to whether the police are enforcing fines (I’ve heard that some police target certain ‘races’ and that wouldn’t surprise me, alas).

Not far from my place – in the other direction – I came upon these signs. Another surprise – a nice one – if it hints at the way things are slowly heading. Again, this was over the border, in another ville and local council from mine. 

In Montfermeil, my neighboring suburb, the campaign is on. Put the poop in the bin – thank you. The bags go here.

Any progress will be welcome. I was writing about this 20 years ago for the Montreal Gazette. At the time, one guy was so pissed off in Paris, he was popping little tricolore French flags in the poops to point out peoples’ ill manners.

Yet, I have the feeling nothing much has changed. That’s six decades after the Clean-Up Australia campaigns. And decades, no doubt, after strict fines were swept in, in Singapore.

Strolling through East Coast Park in squeaky-clean Singapore, you can’t go 10 meters without a rubbish tin. I don’t think the government even provides the bags. It’s BYO there. But they do provide fines, education, and many other things. Including dog parks, dog run areas, dog pools, and – shock horror, haha – dog washing areas. A bit like drive-in car washes, only they are walk-in and for dogs. Not sure if the owner gets washed in the process too, but how fun.

So you need incentives, disincentives, education, civility, infrastructure, and a political will. A bit of all of the above to guarantee a dog-shit-free world. And a bit of all is missing in France. 

I don’t know where my mayor is in all of this – but he needs to get cracking – on cracking down on shit. 

Getting A Scoop On The Poop: And The DNA Too

For way too long, the French have been polluting their beautiful public places, streets and parks with dog shit. Here in the Orangerie Park in Strasbourg, at least there’s a doggie toilet for ‘Kiki’.

There’s a chance the groundswell among a few mayors and the public will lead to significant change … and eventually a merde-free France. Or, will it again amount to nothing much? As other places including New Delhi take tough action – with hefty fines – on this filthy problem?

The move to ID-dog poop technology might be a real game-changer too. Already in Israel, the US and some Spanish cities, there’s a move to identify – and hold to account – irresponsible dog owners by the DNA of the dog poop. Clean (er), green (er) Bordeaux is one French city thinking of venturing this way.

Perhaps it’s going to be up to the younger generation too. Here are a couple more of the Buhl children’s artworks to end with.

They seem to have a cleaner mindset when it comes to expectations – and responsibilities – in the urban environment. 

It’s one thing changing canine behaviour. Another – that of their owners. Until that happens, I’ll be trilling the refrain while walking in the streets: Merde, merde, and encore merde!