please don't feed the meters.

so basically, parking is a free-for-all here in paris. sometimes i cross the street thinking there's a car on the other side i need to let pass, but instead it's just a parked car. there are little french cars, smart cars, and mopeds squeezed into every imaginable crevace of space, and people don't really seem to pay for parking either. walter, my american host, remarked to me last week that "paris must be in trouble--they're giving out parking tickets". i'm just confused as to whether there are rules that aren't followed, or whether there are simply suggestions. it's like the merde everywhere, like, it would be nice if you cleaned up after your dog, but we know you won't anyway. alternatively, it would be swell if you parked in some sort of uniform manner, but we understand you need to park your car, so do what you have to do.

this isn't 'nam, but are there rules?