French expat ‘horrified’ by state of Gurgaon: ‘I have never seen so much filth’

A French expat living in India has joined the conversation on the city’s lack of cleanliness, saying she is “horrified” by the rubbish that covers the streets.

Published on: Jul 7, 2025, 13:50:43 IST

By Sanya Jain

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A French expat living in India has joined the conversation on the city’s lack of cleanliness, saying she is “horrified” by the rubbish that covers the streets. Mathilde, a French woman living in India, said that she has never seen this amount of filth in any other country she has visited.

A French expat has raised concerns about the state of Gurgaon, calling the city 'filthy'

While some countries in Europe are famous for their cleanliness and infrastructure, Mathilde said that even countries in Africa, Asia and South America are “100 times cleaner” than India.

A scathing critique

The French expat launched a scathing critique of Gurgaon while responding to a video that shows piles of garbage covering the entire stretch of a road in front of a school. Mincing no words in her attack, she said she was “horrified” by the state of the city.

“As a French expat living in Gurgaon, I am horrified by the actual state of the city. I have never seen so much filth, trash, and broken roads in any other country I have visited,” wrote Mathilde. “Africa, Asia, and South America are 100 times cleaner. It is sad for Indians. And for India,” she added.

The conversation around Gurgaon’s cleanliness

The issue of Gurgaon’s infrastructure has come to the limelight after it was announced that the Haryana government is discussing the possibility of a Disneyland theme park near the city.

Former Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor has launched a scathing criticism of civic authorities in Gurgaon, wondering how the state of Haryana could build a Disneyland without tackling the basic problem of waste management.

On Saturday, Kapoor took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account to post photos showing heaps of garbage scattered along a roadside in Sector 44, Gurgaon, with several cows standing or sitting amid the mess.

(Also read: 'Want to build Disneyland in Haryana?': Ex-Jet Airways CEO slams Gurgaon authorities over filthy streets)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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