Agencies that employ models who are considered too thin could face a fine of up to €75,000 (US$81,660)
Representational Image. (File Photo)
Paris: France's lower house of Parliament has approved a measure that would make it a crime to use anorexic models. Other countries including Israel and Spain have also cracked down on the glorification of dangerously thin models. The French measure would only apply within France, but could have symbolic impact beyond because of its outsized influence on the fashion world.
Agencies that employ models who are considered too thin could face a fine of up to €75,000 (US$81,660) and six months in prison. The new law requires models to undergo regular weight checks. “This is an important message to young women, young women who see these models as an aesthetic ideal,” Health Minister Marisol Touraine said before the measure was approved.
“It’s important for fashion models to say that they need to eat well and take care of their health.” “It’s important for fashion models to say that they need to eat well and take care of their health.” Lawmakers adopted the amendment Friday, as part of a larger public health bill working its way through the legislature.
They adopted a related amendment earlier this week targeting those who run pro-anorexia websites. A similar measure in 2008 failed to get final approval in the French legislature.
Up to an estimated 40,000 people suffer from anorexia in France, 90 percent of them women, according to the health ministry.
( Source : AP )
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