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PARIS

Paris: How the war on street peeing and dog poo is proving a money spinner

Parisians who toss away cigarette butts, pee in the street or fail to clean up their dog’s poo are providing a lucrative source of income for City Hall, the mayor has revealed.

Paris: How the war on street peeing and dog poo is proving a money spinner
Photo: Tavallai/Flickr

Paris's crackdown on incivilities such as peeing in the street, littering or failing to clean up dog mess is reaping rewards, at least financially.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo revealed this week that the number of fines for handed out to “uncivil” locals has shot up by 118 percent – more than double the amount handed out in 2016.

In the first nine months of 2017 some 65,103 Parisians were hit by fines for various uncivil offences such as tossing the butt of their Gauloises cigarette on the pavement or failing to clean up the crottes de chien left by their pooch.  

The steep rise is mainly due to the creation of a crack team of “incivility police” that Hidalgo sent out to stamp out bad street etiquette in December last year.

(AFP)

As she opened their new headquarters in the 15th arrondissement this week Hidalgo said: “We want to make everyone understand that the city is our common space and we must take care of it… We are there to pull them back into line.”

Hidalgo acknowledged that the habits of Parisians are changing but not always for the better.

“The picnic culture is good, but leaving the rubbish behind is a very bad habit,” she said. “

But what will no doubt also please Hidalgo is the money that rogue Parisians have contributed to City Hall’s coffers. Some 90 percent of the fines handed out were worth €68, which by our calculation equals €3,9 million. 

Some 10,000 fines were for tossing cigarette butts (a rise of 731 percent on last year) and 3,500 ( a 115 percent rise) for so-called wild peeing or urinating in the street.

The capital’s “incivility brigade”, otherwise known as the Direction of Prevention, Security and Protection (DPSP) will soon add another 1, 300 agents to its already 1,900- strong force.

After cracking down on bad street behavior the force will also focus its attention on bad driving habits of the locals.

Whether it’s not respecting bad parking, cars going into bus lanes or cyclists riding on the pavements, Parsians better watch out, or be prepared to cough up.

PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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