Man fined €68 for Gard roadside toilet break

The 20-year-old man was travelling by car with his family, originally from the Nîmes area, when they stopped by the side of the road in a car park, just outside the village of Génolhac in the Gard, reported local newspaper France Bleu.

After relieving himself discreetly in the car park grass, the man was approached by local gendarmerie, who issued him a verbal warning and the fine.

The family initially believed the warning to be a joke, but it was confirmed as real - and the act itself confirmed as against the law - when they received the fine in the post shortly afterwards.

The man’s mother reportedly attempted to have the fine overturned, but the request was denied.

The fine is now at risk of increasing if it is not paid promptly - although there is no suggestion the family will contest the punishment further.

“It is pretty steep for a toilet break, but what can you do?” said mother Maryse, speaking to France Bleu. “There are no toilets in this area. There are some in the village, but when you’re driving on the road, you are not going to go all that way just for a quick stop.

“Also, we see men [doing this] all the time on the side of the road in Nîmes or in the middle of the town, so there is something amiss somewhere, no?”