Julien Damon is a sociologist and associate professor at Sciences-Po.
He has just published
Public Toilets.
Essay on urban conveniences
, at the Presses de Sciences Po.
THE
FIGARO.
- "To worry about public toilets is to worry about the world", you write.
Why
?
Julian Damon.
-
The subject makes it possible to look at a multitude of disparities.
We can cite the disparities between the homeless, who do not have private toilets, and those who have accommodation, with their own toilets;
inequalities between men and women, who do not have access to the same facilities;
or even the inequalities between those who work in a fixed office and those who carry out mobile jobs, without easily available toilets.
Looking at toilets also reveals huge international gaps between rich and poor countries.
Hundreds of millions of people are still faced with the obligation to “defecate in the open”, to use the terms of the UN.
Taking an interest in toilets also makes it possible to analyze the major developments in our societies,
particularly with regard to aging, which makes it necessary to have more sanitary facilities in public spaces.
In short, dealing with a subject that is not as anecdotal as that leads to studying the evolution of our living conditions throughout history.
Toilets are also a great field of innovation.
Sewer networks, for example, were created under the Roman Empire and subsequently greatly developed in London and then in Paris with Baron Haussmann.
Other inventions, such as the siphon or the toilet flush, have transformed our lifestyles and our hygiene.
Today, we are trying to design toilets that consume less water as well as sanitation systems that do not require gigantic networks.
Substantial investments are made in “smart toilets”, which produce live medical analyses.
Finally, toilets are a major theme for the conquest of the universe.
Installations in space call for inventions, in particular for recycling, which could subsequently
benefit all mankind.
So, as I say in this book, the toilet seat is a sort of seat on the world.
In 2000, 1.3 billion people could not relieve themselves in the toilet. They are 500 million today. India and China in particular have caught up some of their delay, you write. Are toilets the symbol of the recomposition of the geopolitical landscape and the rise of China
?
The situation remains absolutely despicable, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, for a substantial part of humanity.
Thousands of children die every day because they come into contact with sewage.
But, it is clear that the situation has greatly improved, because China and India, for twenty years, have invested heavily in the field.
These demographic giants have become major economic and geopolitical giants.
They can no longer bear to be assimilated into the Third World, while they put satellites into orbit and achieve high standards of living.
This very rapid shift towards a better quality health environment in China and India is the sign of a shift in the geopolitical center of the world towards these powers.
Likewise,
Japan and South Korea are very advanced in this area, although they have long been under-equipped.
It is they, today, who set the “la” in this area.
I don't know if it's a sign of the decline of the West, but we clearly tend to downplay these subjects, whereas in rich Asian countries (Japan, South Korea) and emerging countries, they are object of colossal investments.
Julien Damon
Conversely, in our societies, you indicate that public toilets are becoming scarce. Do they illustrate the stagnation or even the decline of the West
?
As the West equipped itself in terms of toilets in private dwellings, public spaces became less equipped.
In France, decisions were taken from the 1930s to the 1970s, by the Council of State or by the Council of Paris, to put an end to the presence of “vespasiennes”, which were considered unsightly and immoral.
This unique equipment, reserved for men, has been virtually eradicated.
It should be noted, in response to the permanence and the transformation of needs, the positive revolution of “sanisettes”, namely public toilets with automatic cleaning, which we owe to Jean-Claude Decaux.
We often talk about American innovators in their garages, but this inventor himself revolutionized street furniture at home, in his garage in Beauvais.
Its automatic toilets,
accessible to men and women, have spread all over the world.
Despite this, we remain insufficiently equipped in the streets and public buildings.
I don't know if it's a sign of the decline of the West, but we clearly tend to downplay these subjects, whereas in rich Asian countries (Japan, South Korea) and emerging countries, they are object of colossal investments.
These countries attach as much importance to public toilets to, on the one hand, improve their international image, and on the other hand, for the well-being of their citizens.
but we clearly tend to play down these subjects, whereas in rich Asian countries (Japan, South Korea) and emerging countries, they are the subject of colossal investments.
These countries attach as much importance to public toilets to, on the one hand, improve their international image, and on the other hand, for the well-being of their citizens.
but we clearly tend to play down these subjects, whereas in rich Asian countries (Japan, South Korea) and emerging countries, they are the subject of colossal investments.
These countries attach as much importance to public toilets to, on the one hand, improve their international image, and on the other hand, for the well-being of their citizens.
How is this also an economic issue
?
The health issue is reflected in the economic issue.
When children cannot go to the toilet at school, the negative impact is measured on academic performance.
And this is especially true for young girls.
This impact on the results has repercussions on the overall qualification of the countries and on the creation of wealth.
According to the World Bank, every dollar invested in quality sanitation systems pays off five times as much over the long term.
The Labor Code in France is very specific in the area of toilets: companies must provide quality “comfort spaces” to employees.
But for mobile professions, it is obviously more complicated.
Julien Damon
Sanitary facilities are also an economic issue, because we are increasingly mobile and because the number of mobile professions is increasing, especially delivery people.
This active population needs toilets.
Otherwise, it is forced into unworthy solutions.
The Labor Code in France is very specific in the area of toilets: companies must provide quality “comfortable spaces” to employees.
But for mobile professions, it is obviously more complicated.
And for all of us, in our consuming activities we can be hindered.
Whether in stores or shopping centres, there is now no obligation to make toilets available to customers and the outside public.
You conclude your book with a series of proposals, including the inclusion of a right to the toilet. How do you think this would lift our country?
Such an orientation would promote human dignity, equality between men and women.
It would usefully accompany the aging of the country.
I think it is wise and possible to establish obligations on local authorities, such as a minimum supply of public toilets for a given number of inhabitants.
In establishments open to the public, whether shopping centers or train stations, it seems to me justified to make the presence of these basic services compulsory.
And these toilets must be free, clean, secure, so that the most basic needs are respected with dignity.
I also think that we can organize public service delegations, with subsidies for restaurants, bars and cafés, so that
they provide sanitary facilities for everyone.
With imagination and a few resources, we can significantly improve everyone's well-being.
Public toilets.
Essay on urban conveniences,
Julien Damon, 2023, 216 p.
16€.
Sciences Po Press.
