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As far as I know, the NOX problems that were masked by the VW software cheating are not the kind of problems that everybody driving behind the car in question can smell.

As somebody who has driven only Peugeots for 14 years now, I can attest that the exhaust system of any Peugeot at any point in time is primarily occupied with rusting. I have to change some part of the exhaust every odd year. Most likely the smelly French cars you observed also have problems with rusted through exhausts.

Also: As somebody plagued with respiratory problems, I feel your pain. My health massively improved when I moved from the city back to my home town in the German woods.