Nope, Those Aren’t Mailboxes: Paris Rolls Out Sidewalk Urinals

A man stands at a Uritrottoir public urinal on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris

Thomas Samson / AFP/Getty Images

In Paris, authorities are taking an unusual approach to combat the scourge of public urination: Make urination even more public.

The city is experimenting with completely exposed, eco-friendly urinals.

The devices are called “Uritrottoir,” which combines the words for urinal and pavement. They’re not at all subtle. They’re bright red and in heavily trafficked areas — for example, directly next to the Seine near the Notre Dame Cathedral.