French minister proposed deporting non-EU prostitutes

The French Interior Minister has proposed deporting non-EU prostitutes. Many longtime Paris prostitutes are angry over the influx of Middle Eastern, African, East European and Chinese prostitutes over the last few years. Debate over prostitution policy "has filled the front pages and editorials of French newspapers for weeks." This article summarizes the various positions and also surveys prostitution policies and debates across Europe.

A conservative member of Parliament, Francoise de Panafieu, is advocating a "tolerant" approach, including the reopening of Paris's famed brothels, which were shut down just after World War II. And Socialists, mainly in the Paris city hall, are advocating a crackdown on all forms of soliciting and the eventual elimination of prostitution. Socialists have called prostitution a form of "modern slavery."

Generally speaking, the debate is between "abolitionists," who want to stop prostitution, and "regulators," who say prostitution will always be around and should be recognized and controlled. A similar debate is underway all over Europe. Some countries, such as the Netherlands, have made prostitution a fully legal and recognized profession, with brothels open to public inspection and prostitutes enjoying the same legal rights as other workers. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Sweden, which under a 1999 law goes after the client by making soliciting for sex illegal, punishable by up to six months in prison.

Posted on Mon, Aug 12, 2002 at 11:55 PM