A large dog in a small hair salon on the left bank. Dogs are allowed almost everywhere, often off-leash. Owners are very no-nonsense about their dogs, usually responding with frowns when Americans fuss over their animals.

The French (or, for that matter, the British) seem to have no protocol dictating that they clean up after their dogs. Merde de chien is everywhere, and it's up to pedestrians to avoid stepping in it. We did see, on one of the green Parisian street sweeper trucks, some icons gently suggesting that people clean up after their dogs. But it's likely this campaign will prove as fruitful as the one that attempted to convert the United States to the metric system.

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