Paris is a beautiful place to visit. There are so many romantic spots to sightsee at, as well as cute little shops to eat yummy food. Did you ever think that you’d think of Paris as a funny place? Well, some things that you may not have known about this special town are just going to make you smile. The French call their policeman ‘chicken.’ There are many different slang words used for the police force such as: Flics, kisdes, condes, keufs, and schmidts, but one word definitely stands out: ‘poulet,’ which means chicken. The term originally came from the traffic events of the Commune of Paris in 1871. The Parisians police had their buildings burnt down, so Jules Ferry made the new barracks on the Ile de la Cite available to the security forces. The new Prefecture de Police stands on the former site of Paris’ poultry market. This catchy phrase didn’t take long to catch on when it was associated to the French police. I’m sure all the policemen are super thrilled with this one.
If you are an animal lover then you’ll love this next fact: There are more dogs in Paris than Parisians. You will definitely be finding dog poop all over Paris. You’ll find it on the chic streets of La Marais, the beautiful parks and gardens, and especially on the soles of your shoes. It is estimated that there is 1kilo of poop left every 5 seconds all over Paris. That could easily fill 3 Olympic sized swimming pools. So watch where you are walking or you might just be dragging around a stinky smell with you on a fun date. Paris is beautiful and so inspiring. Let’s hope more people pick up after their dogs so we can just stroll freely without worry. Enjoy your romantic walk through the city.
Some people become excited to see the beautiful Pairs, but for some, they get just a little bit too excited. Paris is known for many sites such as the le Moulin Rouge, Belle Époque metro signs, and of course the famous Eiffel Tower. Sometimes a few tourists may come with an idealized image of the French capital which is really just far from the reality of it. Japanese visitors have been the most susceptible to suffer from the Paris syndrome (a psychological disorder manifested by acute delusional states, feelings of persecution, hallucinations, depersonalization, anxiety, dizziness, sweating, and many other difficult-to-understand symptoms). There have literally been about 20 cases of mental breakdowns each year, and most of them are from visiting Japanese tourists. Just keep calm and enjoy Paris for all of its beauty.
