Paris's new street toilets (sanisettes) have a large main cabin built for universal access and a separate urinal cabin on the outside.
Where this applies: Paris street toilets (new-generation sanisettes installed from 2024)
Toilet Index: what to expect from toilets abroad
France
What to remember
- FeesToilets in about thirty of the biggest SNCF stations are staffed and cost €1, the transport ministry said in 2023. Nearly 80% of station toilets were free.Varies by venueWhere this applies: SNCF railway stations
- Toilet paperBin wipes, cotton buds and sanitary products, even 'flushable' wipes: sewer authorities say they clog pipes. Toilet paper breaks down in water.Where this applies: Toulon Provence Méditerranée and Grand Paris Seine & Oise (local sewer authorities)
- Paper suppliedCarry tissues as a backup. Paris says each sanisette is visited about three times a week on average to restock toilet paper and soap.Where this applies: Paris street toilets (sanisettes)
Sources: Assemblée nationale (réponse du ministère chargé des transports), Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée, Direction de l'Eau et de l'Assainissement, Communauté urbaine Grand Paris Seine & Oise, Ville de Paris
Sit or squat
Nantes and Bordeaux both describe their free public toilets as accessible to people with reduced mobility, abbreviated PMR in French.
Where this applies: Nantes metropolitan area; Bordeaux
In Nantes you may also see an 'uritrottoir': a red planter box that is a waterless street urinal. The city has installed eight.
Where this applies: Nantes city centre
If you need a seat: We found no official source saying where squat toilets remain, so we cannot tell you where to expect one. If you need a seat, look for toilets marked PMR (reduced mobility): Paris says its new street toilets have a large main cabin built for universal access, and Nantes and Bordeaux describe their free public toilets as accessible.
Accessible toilets: not covered yet.
Toilet paper
Paper supplied
Carry tissues as a backup. Paris says each sanisette is visited about three times a week on average to restock toilet paper and soap.
Where this applies: Paris street toilets (sanisettes)
Bordeaux's two dry toilets (Quai de Brazza and the Barails nature reserve) are cleaned and restocked twice a week.
Where this applies: Bordeaux dry toilets
Where it goes
Bin wipes, cotton buds and sanitary products, even 'flushable' wipes: sewer authorities say they clog pipes. Toilet paper breaks down in water.
Where this applies: Toulon Provence Méditerranée and Grand Paris Seine & Oise (local sewer authorities)
Do not flush the cardboard end of the roll either: Toulon's sewer authority lists it with wipes as something that must never go down the toilet.
Where this applies: Toulon Provence Méditerranée
Paris sanisettes have a bin inside, which the contractor empties on its service visits.
Where this applies: Paris street toilets (sanisettes)
Water and controls
A Paris sanisette cleans and disinfects itself after each user. On the new models, wait about 30 seconds for the main cabin; the urinal cabin needs no wait.
Where this applies: Paris street toilets (new-generation sanisettes)
On the new Paris sanisettes the controls work without touching them, and you wash your hands at a fountain with soap on the outside.
Where this applies: Paris street toilets (new-generation sanisettes)
A Paris sanisette door opens by itself after 15 minutes. The operator says a sound warns you at 13 minutes; in 2026 users reported that the warning had failed.
Where this applies: Paris street toilets (sanisettes); press report quoting the operator, JCDecaux
Fees and access
Paris's automatic street toilets (sanisettes) are free. Most open 6am to 10pm; about 150 on main roads stay open all night.
Where this applies: Paris street toilets (sanisettes)
Toilets in about thirty of the biggest SNCF stations are staffed and cost €1, the transport ministry said in 2023. Nearly 80% of station toilets were free.
Varies by venueWhere this applies: SNCF railway stations
That may change: the paid-toilet contract ran to 2026, and SNCF put a new one for 31 stations out to tender in April 2026. Check the price at the entrance.
Varies by venueWhere this applies: The largest SNCF railway stations
Street toilets are free in other cities too: Nantes (about a hundred), Bordeaux and Marseille all list free public toilets.
Where this applies: Nantes metropolitan area; Bordeaux; Marseille
Not everywhere is free: Nice's tourist office lists the public toilets on the Promenade du Paillon as paid, at €0.50.
Varies by venueWhere this applies: Promenade du Paillon public toilets, Nice
On the Paris metro and RER, RATP's open data lists 87 toilet sites, 86 of them free. 54 are inside the ticket barriers; the paid one is at Trocadéro.
Varies by venueWhere this applies: Paris metro and RER stations (RATP network)
Where it varies
Some cities sign up cafés, bars and shops that let you use the toilet without buying anything: look for the 'Ici toilettes' sticker in Bordeaux or 'café citoyen au quotidien' in Nantes.
Varies by venueWhere this applies: Bordeaux (15 partner businesses); Nantes (bars in the scheme)
Nancy launched a similar 'open toilets' scheme in July 2025 with volunteer bars, hotels and restaurants, and also counts toilets in its libraries, museums and town hall.
Varies by venueWhere this applies: Nancy
Station toilets differ by station: at regional stations the regional transport authority decides whether they are free, most often using automatic toilets.
Varies by venueWhere this applies: Regional SNCF railway stations
Opening hours differ by site: Lyon's staffed toilets on Place Bellecour open 8:00 to 19:30, while Strasbourg's at the station car park are open 24 hours.
Varies by venueWhere this applies: Place Bellecour, Lyon; station short-stay car park, Strasbourg
On motorways, VINCI Autoroutes said in 2020 that its staff check the cleanliness of the toilets and showers on its 453 rest and service areas every day.
Where this applies: VINCI Autoroutes motorway rest and service areas
Sources
- Ville de ParisParis modernise ses 435 toilettes publiques
- Nantes MétropoleTrouver des toilettes publiques ou un uritrottoir
- Ville de BordeauxComment trouver facilement des toilettes publiques gratuites à Bordeaux ?
- Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée, Direction de l'Eau et de l'AssainissementAssainissement : tout-à-l'égout ? Non, pas tout !
- Communauté urbaine Grand Paris Seine & OiseLes lingettes « biodégradables » : un fléau pour nos canalisations et notre environnement (communiqué de presse)
- Handicap.frToilettes publiques : sont-elles vraiment accessibles ?
- Paris je t'aime - Office de TourismePublic toilets
- Assemblée nationale (réponse du ministère chargé des transports)Question écrite n° 5211 : Absence de gratuité des toilettes dans les gares SNCF
- Assemblée nationaleQuestion écrite n° 15294 : Accès gratuit aux sanitaires pour les voyageurs dans les gares SNCF
- Office de Tourisme, des Loisirs et des Congrès de MarseilleToilettes publiques
- Office de Tourisme Métropolitain Nice Côte d'AzurToilettes Publiques Promenade du Paillon
- RATP (Régie autonome des transports parisiens), Open DataToilettes publiques dans le réseau RATP (export CSV du jeu de données sanitaires-reseau-ratp)
- RATP (Régie autonome des transports parisiens), via data.gouv.frToilettes publiques dans le réseau RATP (jeu de données)
- Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts)Opération toilettes ouvertes à Nancy (54)
- Ville de LyonSanitaire public place Bellecour
- Ville et Eurométropole de StrasbourgToilettes publiques parking Gare courte durée
- VINCI AutoroutesL'entretien des autoroutes et des aires se poursuit durant l'épidémie du COVID 19
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