Now the much-mourned pissotieres or pissoirs, the dark-green public urinals that gave relief to generations of Parisian men, are finally getting their place in the city's social and architectural history. The first-ever exhibition in the French capital dedicated to the once ubiquitous and notorious facilities opened on Wednesday. Despite endless campaigns for their closure on grounds of "social hygiene", pissoirs were a potent if smelly symbol of the City of Lights, he said. T'was ever so, said Martin, who said women have been "long forgotten" in the history of public lavatories. In keeping with tradition, and Paris city hall's policy of free public toilets, the exhibition is open to all.

Source: The Local November 21, 2019 07:41 UTC