Post: #1

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19...lp00000003

Sexual solicitation may be illegal in France's capital city, but it might not stay that way for long.

If a proposal to repeal a 10-year-old solicitation law passes the French Senate latter this month, public prostitution could become legal in Paris, the Local notes.

Proposed by Sen. Esther Benbassa, a member of the French Green Party, the legislation seeks to overturn a law introduced in 2003 by then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy that made it illegal for sex workers to wear revealing attire and solicit customers in a public place.

As the Economist notes, prostitution is not currently illegal in France, but many of the activities associated with the trade, such as solicitation and brothels, are against the law.

Explaining her motives behind the proposal during a protest Saturday, Benbassa said that the law has only served to isolate workers, rather than dismantle prostitution networks, Huffington Post France reports. If it had achieved the later, she would be in favor of the law; however, Benbassa said, the legislation has achieved the opposite effect.

About 250 people gathered for a demonstration in Paris over the weekend -- one of several rallies that has taken place since the law was first enacted -- to demand that the law be repealed. STRASS, the trade union for sex workers, claims the existing legislation leads to increased violence and reduced rates, according to HuffPost France.

Post: #2

If this passes, it will be a breath of fresh air after having seen France trample on sexual rights for a decade. Good decision.