Prostitution in France

Regulation was largely at the municipal level, restricting activity on certain streets, travel, liaisons, required distinctive dress (gold belts, or ceinture dorée)[8] and opening hours of the maisons (10–6, or 10–8 in Paris).

Although still railing against women who were "free with their bodies and other common harlots", he acknowledged the pragmatic desirability of housing them away from respectable streets and religious establishments, and so obliged them to reside outside of the borders of the city walls.

[17] In 1358, the Grand Conseil of John II (1350–1364) echoing the "necessary evil" doctrine of Saints Augustine (354–430 AD) and Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) declared that "les pécheresses sont absolument nécessaires à la Terre" (Sinners are an absolute necessity for the country).

[9] Prostitution remained confined to designated areas, as indicated in this decree in the reign of Charles V (1364–1380), by Hugh Aubriot, Provost of Paris in 1367, outlining the areas outside of which prostitutes would be punished 'according to the ordinance of Saint Louis'; Que toutes les femmes prostituées, tenant bordel en la ville de Paris, allassent demeurer et tenir leurs bordels en places et lieux publics à ce ordonnés et accoutumés, selon l'ordonnance de Saint Louis.

Si les femmes publiques, d'écris ensuite cette ordonnance, se permettent d'habiter des rues ou quartiers autres que ceux ci-dessus désignés, elles seront emprisonnées au Châtelet puis bannies de Paris.

[citation needed] The British Army adopted local codes of ethics when fighting in another country, and so allowed troops on rest periods and days off to visit what became termed maisons tolérées.

While British troops paid just six pence per day were often found in the lowest priced institutes, dominion soldiers from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada received six shillings and could afford higher-class "services".

[citation needed] The disease at the time had a high social stigma, but a particularly bad infection could get a soldier medically discharged from frontline duty, even on a temporary basis.

Every British army unit had a sexually transmitted disease clinic, where soldiers could gain an ointment consisting of mercury and chlorine to prevent VD infection, or receive a urethral irrigation with potassium permanganate after STI exposure.

The French later proposed a deal that targeted the Black American troops, most of whom were assigned to unloading freight in segregated stevedore battalions, again flatly turned down by US authorities.

But this merely highlighted US differential racial policy, as all black troops were required by US Army regulations to undertake prophylaxis when returning from leave, whether or not they acknowledged sexual contact.

In the new Penal Code, pimping became a serious offence if associated with organized crime or barbarity, and overall was defined at three levels of severity with increasing fines, and prison sentences from five years up to life imprisonment.

[46] Proxénétisme is defined as: France is an "abolitionist" country – its public policy is the prohibition and eradication of prostitution; however, at the same time, it considers that making it illegal to offer sexual acts in return for goods or services in the context of one's private life is a violation of individual liberty.

This influence has waned under the security agenda of the succeeding right-wing governments, but is still evident in the new political thinking, as stated in Marie-Jo Zimmermann's (UMP) 2002 report to the Delegation on Women's Rights on prostitution[57] in which she echoes the left wing sentiment that the purchase of sex constitutes violence.

This resulted from a close fit between the government position and the dominant socio-political discourse, making it acceptable to a broad coalition that included abolitionists, secular and religious NGOs, politicians from both ends of the political spectrum, and most French feminists.

[32] This provides abolitionists access to both the policy process and to resources, such as the 2000 UNESCO conference (see below), which had high-profile support, including important left-wing figures such as Jean-Pierre Chevènement and Sylviane Agacinski, who was also married to Lionel Jospin.

This was signed by 35 prominent citizens, and demanded that France and Europe affirm their commitment to the abolition of prostitution, resulting in a debate covering many aspects of the subject, such as choice, autonomy, voice, and agency.

The 2001 report of the Delegation (named after its author, Senator Dinah Derycke (1997–2001))[32][70] was critical of what it saw as the lack of commitment in the fight against prostitution, mainly the difference between France's official abolitionist position and what was occurring in practice.

Senator Derycke retired due to ill health and died soon after, while other pressures diverted the debate into other related measures, such as organized crime and trafficking and 'modern slavery'.

[38][72] Criticism of the dominant discourse came from prostitutes' rights advocates, health associations, such as Cabiria (Lyons),[73] AIDS groups, and some activists who complained that sex workers were being treated paternalistically and denied voice and moral agency.

Nicolas Sarkozy became minister of the interior in the incoming right-wing Rafferin government (2002–2005), almost immediately announcing a Domestic Security Bill (Loi No 2003-239 pour la sécurité intérieure),[80] and the focus of the debates around prostitution shifted to legislation.

[86] Criticism came from the left, trade unions, women's[87] and human rights and poverty groups who saw this bill, which simultaneously addressed begging, squatting and assembling in public areas of buildings,[88] as an attack on the poor, stating that no one chooses to be a beggar or a prostitute.

The trafficking policy seemed more aimed at the porousness of borders than at actual criminals, while migrant sex workers appeared to be particularly discriminated against, since they were simultaneously 'rescued' and deported without in any way addressing their vulnerability.

[93] However, the more profound effect was that Sarkozy had changed the framing of sex workers from victims to criminals, and tied it to immigration debates, focusing narrowly on street transactions.

Following the law coming into effect, 5,619 charges of passive solicitation were laid between March 2003 and July 2004, 90% of these were women, and most from Bulgaria and Albania (40%), Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon (35%).

[97][98] A study by Anne Hidalgo and Christophe Caresche, Deputy mayors in the office of the Mayor of Paris (Bertrand Delanoë),[99] was especially critical: "En amalgamant prostitution libre et prostitution forcée, qui relèvent de processus totalement différents, en victimisant les personnes qui se prostituent, sans distinction, cette loi légitime et renforce les violences symboliques, physiques, policières, institutionnelles.

Elle renforce aussi leur insécurité, les obligeant à investir des lieux éloignés des regards, d'autant plus qu'elle les contraint à travailler davantage puisque toutes ont vu leur clientèle se raréfier, et par conséquent leur revenu diminuer de 50% en moyenne"[100][38][101] Sarkozy had made a sharp distinction between the "classic prostitution" of the traditional French Fille de Joie, who he depicted as unproblematic, even a cultural icon (see Culture), and the presence of "ces malheureuses filles étrangères" (these poor foreign girls) on the streets of France, who he depicted as the security threat.

He argued that the only way to achieve this was to arrest them and then send them back to their families (Si le racolage est reconnu comme un délit, les forces de l'ordre pourront, parce qu'elles auront commis un délit, ramener ces filles chez elles), which he stated to be a humanitarian duty "c'est un devoir, dirai-je, humanitaire que de raccompagner cette personne chez elle" (I will say it is a humanitarian duty to return such a person to their home).

In April 2006, Senator Nicole Borvo (PCF) attempted to introduce a private bill to repeal the Sarkozy law, arguing that it had been ineffective, and turned victims into criminals.

[30] A row erupted in 2002 with the proposal by Françoise de Panafieu (UMP), which divided French feminists, with Gisèle Halimi denouncing it, but Élisabeth Badinter seeing it as an issue of "the right to dispose freely of one's body".