A special squad patrols the streets of Paris looking for people answering the call of nature:
PARIS — Hidden behind dark sunglasses, Jean-Pierre Rebete follows his target into a narrow Paris alley.
“We’ve got one,” he whispers to his partner, who bolts to block off the other end of the street.
The man in the alley zips up his jeans and turns away from the wall. Busted. Mr. Rebete hands him a ticket and informs him of his rights.
Mr. Rebete is a special agent in Paris’s war on public urination. Part of an elite, 88-member force called the Brigade des Incivilités, or Bad Behavior Brigade, Mr. Rebete scours the streets for all sorts of boorish offenders. Dressed in civilian clothes and driving an unmarked car, he tickets everyone from litterbugs to people handing out unauthorized flyers to Parisians who don’t pick up after their dog.
Jean-Pierre Rebete and Daniel Bottani are not your typical Parisian cops. They are part of an elite force that scours the mean streets of Paris for crimes against hygiene, including the smelliest offense of all: public urination. WSJ’s Susana Ferreira reports.
But what the French call urine sauvage, which translates to “wild urine,” is the hardest to crack. While France’s capital has campaigned with some success to have Parisians pick up after their pets, the city is still struggling with the presence of pipi. Urine is hard to escape in certain parts of the city, be it on the street, in the Metro or in parks.
Members of the Brigade say there is no high season for urinary offenses, but summertime heat heightens the stench.
It being France, one wonders how they can tell…..
H/T: Tommy Christopher
