Re-opening of French brothels suggested

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32462, 24 November 1970, Page 10

Re-opening of French brothels suggested

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) PARIS. An initiative by 40 Gaullist members of Parliament has started a fresh debate here over the idea of reopening France’s brothels after a 25-year ban.

The Gaullist group, led by a former country doctor, Dr Claude Peyret, has undertaken a study of the 1946 law closing the brothels, and is expected to put its recommendations before the National Assembly next year. He says the group has not yet reached any conclusions, but he adds that he sees only one possibility for reform — the re-opening of the houses under strict control.

The publicity given to his statements has already provoked a flood of nostalgic reminiscences of the days when such houses as “Le Grand Quatre” (The Big Four) and “Le Sphinx” were glittering features of Paris night-life. But the discussion, in cafes and more official settings, seems certain to involve such broader questions as women’s liberation, and a welter of conflicting social and psychological theories. Dr Peyret, a 45-year-old father of five, sees legalised brothels as a way to free prostitutes from the grip of ruthless procurers, to protect their health, and to give them the chance to study and

leave the profession if they wish. He said tight control by city or local authorities might achieve this. Dr Peyret added that his group’s study was motivated by concern over the rise in venereal disease and sexual crime, and the feeling that controlled brothels could help check the problem. He suggested that sexual frustration was a cause of varied kinds of social disorder. ONE OBSTACLE But any move to open brothels faces at least one immediate obstacle. Since 1948 France has adhered to an international convention to suppress trade in human beings. Under it, she bound herself to take measures to abolish any law or procedure for the special registration of prostitutes. Such registration was a vital part of the system under which some 2000 houses of prostitution thrived in France until 1946, when they were banned. But even when they were legal, only about 1500 prostitutes worked in licensed brothels in Paris. Another 8000 were registered in the capital as working independently and a substantial number of others are thought to have avoided registration altogether. Twenty-five years later, most estimates agree there are 8000 to 9000 full-time prostitutes in the capital,' and more than 20,000 who work part-time at the trade- No estimates are available for the part-timers 25 years ago. The closing of the brothels put more of the girls on the streets, but a still firmer ruling was to come. In 1959 a new ordinance provided that hotels could be shut down and their proprietors fined heavily if they permitted their rooms to be used for prostitution. Hun-

dreds of prostitutes staged noisy demonstrations in Marseilles against the measure. MEDICAL CARDS Until 1960, the prostitutes were issued with medical cards, certifying their health. In that year, the Government decided that the cards had only limited value in checking venereal disease, and carried an implicit recognition of the women’s profession. The act of prostitution has never been banned, but soliciting is against the law Despite a battery of laws limiting the way they can ply their trade, prostitutes are still a familiar sight in certain well-identified Paris neighbourhoods. Others can regularly be seen waiting for cars to stop on quiet treelined streets leading to the suburbs. Prostitution yields an annual income of 3000 m. francs in France, according to the estimates of an anti-prostitution organisation called Action Teams Against White Slavery. The estimate claims 20 new recruits —both women and children every day.