Big Pet Peeve in France

Over the weekend I decided what my biggest 'pet peeve' is of living in France. (Tangent: I had to explain what a pet peeve was the other day to a colleague. It took me like 10 minutes to figure out how to say it's a minor annoyance..another tangent, in the UK apparently they are called pet hates. Which I think is a bit harsh).

Anywho, I was walking to Gare De Lyon to visit Andrew (more on that later) a man was peeing against a building. Let me set the scene: It was around noon. This street was fairly busy. The man was normally dressed (read: not homeless). It was just out in the open (not in alcove or something) on a bright and sunny day.... and did I mention it was noon?  AND THEN when I got off the train in andrew's town I was driving to his house and when I pulled out of the parking lot there was another man just peeing as well. Are there no bathrooms in this country? And thus, you have now been introduced to y least favorite part of living in France: Men who think this beautiful country is their toilet.

This unfortunately is not an isolated incident. I see this all the time (granted, it's usually later at night, presumably, after people have been drinking). I just don't understand how and when it became OK to use a side of a building as a toilet. According to "Stuff Parisians Like," (the expert in all things Parisians, obviously),  peeing with friends on the street is a long time habit and  "the defining moment of a Parisian friendship." And apparently, if a policeman catches you on the street peeing (oh it IS illegal), they will just give you a warning. Because afterall, they are Parisian men who like to pee on the street too.

There you have it. Living in France isn't always baguettes and croissants :)