Paris gets tough on trash with new campaign
A new campaign was launched on Wednesday to warn Parisians and tourists they risk a fine if they throw litter or urinate in the street.
The campaign uses images of discarded cans, pizza boxes and the unappetizing sight of a patch of freshly dispatched urine against a wall. On each poster is the message that offenders will be fined €35 ($48).
City dwellers are reminded that Paris has 30,000 public rubbish bins (one every 100 metres), 400 free public toilets and 6,000 street cleaners. The city spends €200 million a year to keep streets clean.
"With this new campaign, we want to relieve the exasperation of people who tell us about this more and more," said François Dagnaud who is responsible for keeping the capital's streets clean. "It's simple: we don't have the right to throw whatever we want on the ground."
The campaign is accompanied by an increase in the number of teams across the city who have the power to issue fines, according to a press release from city authorities.
In the first few days of the campaign, teams will give "yellow cards" to litter throwers to warn them. After that, spot fines will be issued.
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