Cultural Values Expressed in Free, Clean Drinking Water
Featuring: Paris, France
The availability of clean drinking water in Paris, France, reflects its cultural values of health, basic human rights, and clean environments. In Paris, there are many water fountains that can be accessed by everyone, including the disabled and the homeless, all year round. Humans can not go more than three days without water, which shows that Paris values the health and wellbeing of its citizens. Instead of paying for water, citizens pay for empty water bottles, which encourages reusing. City-operated Eau de Paris uses UV light and oxidation in its water treatment, avoiding harmful chemicals such as chlorine (Ferran). Paris’s values of basic human rights, health, and clean environments can be seen through a variety of other artifacts, which will be explored in the following paragraphs.
According to the CDC, getting enough water every day is important for your health. Water helps keep body temperature normal, lubricate joints, and cushion delicate areas such as the spinal cord (“Water and Nutrition”). Water isn’t the only artifact that reflects Paris’s cultural value of health. Throughout the city, there are as many as 20,000 bikes available for easy rent to promote an active lifestyle, as well as reduce pollution (Koning). The existence of universal healthcare is yet another indicator that the French value good health. In fact, the World Health Organization ranked France as having the best universal healthcare in the world. Lastly, the recent travel restrictions due to Covid-19 show that the French value the health of their citizens above the profit of tourism.
According to the UN, clean, drinkable water is a basic human right. “On 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights” (Resolution). In Paris, the water fountains were designed with wide variety, having those with disabilities in mind. The city provides a free smartphone app, which helps users locate fountains, water refilling stations, and restrooms.Other artifacts that express the value of basic human rights in French culture include access to those with disabilities (“We Answer”), and laws against hate speech, specifically racist or religious hate speech (Dhoquois).
Having clean drinking water shows that Paris values having a clean environment, since bottle refill stations and public restrooms reduce waste and pollution. The long term benefits of clean drinking water outweigh the short term costs. “[F]or every dollar invested in sanitation, there is about a nine-dollar long-term benefit in costs averted and productivity gained” (qtd. in Noga). The presence of public parks in Paris is another indicator that Paris values a clean environment, since it provides a place for people to connect with nature and enjoy the outdoors. Other artifacts that express the value of a clean environment are the 30,000+ garbage bins in Paris (Bamat), as well as the strict fines for littering. For example, the punishment for dropping a single cigarette butt in the street is a hefty fine of €68 (Bamat). For reference, 68 Euros is about the equivalent of 80 USD (CurrencyRate).
Cultural artifacts can provide clear insight into a culture’s values. In the case of Paris, we can look to the artifact of clean drinking water to show its cultural values of health, basic human rights, and a clean environment. The city of Paris, France could serve as an example to the rest of the world. If other cities are able to implement free clean drinking water for all citizens, the overall world would become a healthier, happier, cleaner place.
Works Cited
CurrencyRate. eur.currencyrate.today/usd/68.
Dhoquois, Régine. “Les thèses négationnistes et la liberté d’expression en France” [“Negationist Theses and Freedom of Expression in France”]. Ethnologie Française, vol. 36, no. 1, 2006, www.cairn-int.info/revue-ethnologie-francaise-2006-1-page-27.htm?contenu=article. Abstract.
Bamat, Joseph. “Dropping a Cigarette Butt in Paris to Prompt €68 Fine.” France24, 4 Apr. 2015, www.france24.com/en/20150904-paris-68-euro-fine-cigarette-butt-litter-campaign-france.
Ferran, Bruno, et al. “Paris, France — City of ‘UV’ Light CFD Modeling as a Design Evaluation Tool for UV System Retrofit.” Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation, Jan. 2009, pp. 114–41, DOI:10.2175/193864709793848266. Abstract.
Koning, Martin, and Alison Conway. “The Good Impacts of Biking for Goods: Lessons from Paris City.” Science Direct, 29 Aug. 2016, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213624X16300414. Abstract.
Noga, Jacqueline, and Gregor Wolbring. “The Economic and Social Benefits and the Barriers of Providing People with Disabilities Accessible Clean Water and Sanitation.” Sustainability, PDF ed., 12 Nov. 2012.
Resolution A/RES/64/292. United Nations General Assembly, July 2010 General Comment №15. The right to water. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, November 2002
“Water and Nutrition.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/nutrition/index.html.
“We Answer — How to Do Paris on Two Wheels.” Paris Insiders Guide, www.parisinsidersguide.com/paris-in-a-wheelchair.html.
