New open-air urinals infuriate residents in Paris

The residents from the beautiful 'City of Love' are unhappy after the city installed bright red open-air urinals called "uritrottoir". They have been erected across the city in an effort to reduce public urination.

The term "uritrottoir" is a mash-up of the words 'urinal' and 'pavement'.

Locals have openly expressed that the design of the urinals is not attractive to look at, and placing it near historic places such as the Notre Dame cathedral is an eyesore for tourists who come to the city to enjoy the sights and the sounds. 

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According to BBC, the mayor of the city, Ariel Weil, has spoken up and said that these 'boxes' had to be installed to combat the number of men peeing in public. 

The red box is said to be odourless and is eco-friendly, as it has a straw at the top which turns into compost to be used across the city. 

Watch the video below to see what it looks like:

Many residents took to social media to share their views on the new solution to the public urination issue in Paris.

Paris is not the only city to have come up with ways to stop people from relieving themselves in public. According to News24, back in 2006, a new-bylaw in Durban came into effect which saw perpetrators of public urination being slapped with a R40,000 fine, and even jail time if caught.

But could public urinals be the solution to the problem? We surveyed our Twitter audience to get their thoughts on Paris' solution. Of the 152 respondents who took our poll, 64% gave a thumbs down to public urinals, 24% said 'yay', and 12% weren't too sure about it.

Now we want to hear from you. If urinals like these were implemented in South Africa, would you be for or against it, and why? Let us know in the comments section below.