Paris - On the offensive against the offensive, Paris City Hall on Tuesday announced new measures to combat what is by general reckoning one of the scourges of life in the French capital - dog mess.

Despite an annual cleaning budget of 60 million francs (about R59,6-million) and a squadron of 76 "motocrottes" - a sort of mobile vacuum-cleaner - the problem of canine excreta still features regularly at the top of voters' concerns.

According to the mayor's office, 200 000 city dogs are depositing 10 tons of faeces every day, and the average distance between two turds is about 40 metres.

Among the new measures adopted by the city assembly late on Monday are a re-organisation of the motocrotte teams, so that they circulate more in the afternoon, and the distribution of special spades to regular street-cleaners.

In addition the number of inspectors will be doubled from 44 to 88, with the aim of increasing the number of fines handed out to 2 500 this year.

A hundred new sand-toilets will also be built, and free plastic gloves made available at municipal offices for owners of recalcitrant pavement-poopers. - Sapa-AFP