Additionally, the public restroom procedure in Paris is hyper-alien to anyone from a major US city. I imagine there are a lot of very ignorant 20-something US kids dropping nuggets at night in shrubs out of sheer necessity.

Imagine a normal, closeted US kid, doing a weekend or Semester abroad in France. They go to a friendly looking Irish expat pub, put down a pint or two, head to the loo, and just see A HOLE IN THE FLOOR.

If I was that sheltered child, I'd poop in the shrubs too.