GlobalPost's Mildrade Cherfils examines a French proposal to reopen brothels after more than 60 years. PARIS -- A French lawmaker wants to reopen brothels, outlawed in France since , in order to protect prostitutes from predatory pimps and exploitation.
But the sex workers say no thanks. A law introduced by then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, which made passive public solicitation a punishable crime, is partly to blame for the impasse. Criminalizing activities around prostitution, which itself is legal for anyone over 18, sent workers underground to massage parlors and bars, but also away from the city centers, to peripheral areas, the woods and the Internet. It "rendered exercising this profession much more dangerous" since workers found themselves isolated, Mossuz-Lavau said.
Almost seven years to the day that parliament adopted that law in March , Chantal Brunel, a member of Sarkozy's UMP party who had voted for it, announced she wants to change the government's response to prostitution. She envisions reopening the brothels as spaces where workers would be safe from human trafficking and violence, treated with dignity and would even receive medical care. An estimated 59 percent of French citizens support the idea, according to a poll released last month.
But the sex workers' union, which represents more than prostitutes in France, is adamantly opposed to government meddling in its business and would rather maintain as much independence over its members' livelihoods as possible.
Reached by phone, Tiphaine Besnard, a union spokeswoman, said it had been a while since she heard any news from government officials one way or another about how the matter was progressing. In any case, the workers rarely participate in political discussions or decisions involving them. Among the reasons the union cites for opposing the government's proposal is the fear that brothel keepers who want to receive a cut of their proceeds would exploit the workers.
