What happens when you try to enact a law in France that criminalizes paying for sex? A flock of pissed off, Parisian prostitutes flood the streets in protest. Hundreds of sex workers gathered outside the French National Assembly yesterday after lawmakers voted for a measure that imposes fines of 1,500 euros (about $2,000) on anyone caught looking for love in the wrong places, and could potentially strip France’s estimated 20,000 to 40,000 sex workers of their clients. Or at least the law-abiding ones.
The reform still needs to pass the Senate and be signed by President Francois Hollande before it’s officially enacted, though the majority of the governing Socialist Party is expected to vote in its favor. Women’s Rights Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem is one of the law’s biggest advocates, and she claims that Hollande’s aim is to quash the industry. Others site the rise in human trafficking and foreign-born prostitutes as need for stricter legislation. Previously, prostitution had been legal in France, though not in any organized form such as rings or brothels.
Historically, the country has had a rather bipolar relationship with licentious industry. The earliest attempted ban was issued by Louis IX in December of 1254 in a decree that ordered the expulsion of all “women of evil life” from the kingdom and the seizure of their personal goods. Like today, the law instigated widespread protests, and eventually proved ineffective after the industry responded by moving underground.
During the age of Napoleon, France was actually looked to as a model for the regulation of prostitution after the emperor established state controlled brothels called maisons de tolérance or maisons closes. The law required the registration of all working prostitutes and biweekly medical inspections, and by 1810 Paris had 180 government-approved brothels.
After WWII, such houses of ill repute were abruptly outlawed. And unfortunately for modern-day courtesans, recent leaders have continued the abolitionist approach, gradually tightening their fists until the centuries-old industry is no more.
A prostitute shakes her literal moneymaker during the demonstration before the French assembly in Paris. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)
Sex workers don masks to shield their identities at the protest. This prostitute's sign reads, "Whores without clients will seek a job in the government." (Jacky Naegelen/Reuters)
Another prostitute holds a placard that reads, "Clients penalized = AIDS." (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)
The sex workers union in France, STRASS, helped stir up emotions at the rally. (Jacky Naegelen/Reuters)
This elaborate sign reads, "Discrimination = The republic in danger." (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)
This young woman displays a sign that reads, "Prostitution, not repression, nor abolition, rules!" (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)
Some clients, 99 percent of whom are men, joined in the protest. A man holds a placard that reads, "I am a client, many, many, many, many, many, many, many" times, joking about his own potential criminality. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)
More masked workers join the fight, armed with heart-shaped balloons. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)
The sex workers feel their lives are at stake. "Clients penalized = Prostitutes killed," reads a sign in the background. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)
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