les toutounets

David Sedaris once wrote about a picture of Jodie Foster, taken while she was walking her dog on the beach. The French people he knew were ever-so-curious about what was in her hand. Turns out, it was a plastic bag Ms. Foster brought along to pick up any packages her dog happened to leave behind. Incroyable ! What an idea!

France is well known for the frequency one can step in aforementioned packages. It's good luck, some will tell you. I find that hard to believe. In Paris, I've seen special dog poop patrol vehicles with vacuums that clean it right up. "Mechanized municipal pooper scoopers" if you will. But Paris is still an extremely clean city, given a population of over 9 million people, not including the flood of tourists who arrive each day. Even so, it's estimated that more than 600 people a year break a limb after slipping on a sidewalk surprise.

Many French towns have installed les toutounets - plastic bag distributors (toutou being a common nickname for a dog, and net meaning clean) and imposed a fine for those who do not clean up after their precious chien. Evidence left on the sidewalks proves that the idea hasn't really taken hold in the French consciousness. After all, they do pay taxes to keep their towns clean.

Today, however, I witnessed a never-seen-before event in France. A couple, led by their enormous yellow lab, was stopped in the pedestrian zone in Amiens. I watched as the woman pulled out a plastic bag and expertly put her hand inside so as not to soil it when she bent over to collect les crottes. Could it be that picking up after your pooch is finally catching on? Had the woman been inspired by Jodie Foster all those years ago? Or was it only because the mayor was in the next block, campaigning for the upcoming elections?