法國通過法案 嫖客初犯罰1500歐元

French lawmakers on Wednesday approved a controversial bill that will make the clients of prostitutes liable for fines starting at 1,500 euros ($2,000).

The draft anti-prostitution law was approved by the lower-house National Assembly with 268 deputies voting in favour, 138 voting against and 79 abstaining.

The bill, which now has to receive the approval of the upper-house Senate, was inspired by similar legislation in Sweden which penalises prostitutes' clients with the aim of eliminating the world's oldest profession.

It was sponsored by women's rights minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who hailed Wednesday's vote as "the end of a long road strewn with pitfalls".

Campaigners for the abolition of prostitution welcomed a "historic advance".

"France has placed itself at the side of those who prostitute themselves, against those who take advantage of their vulnerability," campaign group the Mouvement du Nid said in a statement.

Critics, who include some of France's most prominent celebrities, say the legislation will simply push prostitution further underground and make the women who earn their living from it more vulnerable to abuse.

Paying or accepting payment for sex currently is not, in itself, a crime in France. But soliciting, pimping (which includes running brothels) and the sale of sex by minors are prohibited.

The new bill decriminalises soliciting while shifting the focus of policing efforts to the clients.

20,000 sex workers in France

The government says it is aimed at preventing violence against women and protecting the large majority of prostitutes who are victims of trafficking gangs.

Under its terms, anyone found to have purchased the services of a prostitute will be fined 1,500 euros for a first offence and more than double that for subsequent breaches.

Offenders may however be offered the alternative of going on a course designed to raise awareness of the realities of prostitution and the human misery that underpins much of it.

In Sweden, a law passed in 1999 which exposes users to possible six-month prison terms and income-related fines has reduced street prostitution by half since it was adopted, but it is not clear how much of that trade has simply moved to the Internet.

Norway and Finland have moved in a similar direction and Germany is currently considering reversing its decade-old experiment with legalising brothels.

There are an estimated 20,000-plus sex workers in France, more than 80 percent of whom come from abroad. According to the interior ministry, most of them come from eastern Europe, Africa, China and South America.

The bill has provisions to help prostitutes who want to get out of the profession, for which a budget of 20 million euros per year has been allocated.

Those include granting some foreigners six-month, renewable residence permits to make it easier for them to find other work.

Many members of the opposition rightwing UMP party took exception to this clause, arguing that it provides an incentive for illegal immigration.

As well as the issue of whether the legislation will lead to a reduction in the exploitation of prostitutes by pimps and people traffickers, there has been a debate in France over the fundamental principle of whether the state should seek to police the sale of sex.

About two dozen lawmakers from different parties signed a petition describing the bill as "a moralistic text", while a group of celebrities and cultural figures also came out against it.

Among them was Catherine Deneuve, the veteran actress who starred in Luis Bunuel's 1967 film "Belle de Jour", which explores the relationship between prostitution and sexuality.

A group styling themselves as the "343 Bastards" issued a manifesto entitled "Don't touch my whore!" and there was less predictable opposition to the legal text from Elisabeth Baninter, one of France's most prominent feminists, who argued that it was based on a simplistic and stereotypical view of male sexuality and its relationship to violence against women.

The small proportion of prostitutes who work independently -- and who pay tax on their earnings -- have also been vocal in their opposition to a bill they say has already scared clients away.

About 200 prostitutes protested outside the National Assembly, shouting "Don't touch my client!" and "Minister Belkacem, this means war!據法新社12月5日報道，法國國民議會下院12月4日以268票贊成、138票反對、79票棄權通過反賣淫法案，規定將對嫖客處以1500歐元（約2000美元）的罰款。但法案還需送交法國上議院進行表決。

***正方：歷史進步

倡議並推動這項法案的法國婦女權益部長納賈·瓦洛-貝爾卡塞姆稱讚5日的投票終結了“充滿陷阱的漫長之路”。 反賣淫組織“愛巢運動”在聲明中說：“法國站在妓女一邊，反對那些利用她們的脆弱的人。”

法國政府表示，法案旨在阻止對婦女的暴力侵害，保護絕大多數被犯罪團伙操縱的受害妓女。根據條款，嫖客初犯將被罰款1500歐元，如果再犯，罰金將在兩倍以上。

***反方：賣淫地下化

包括法國名人在內的一些批評人士稱，該法案只會讓賣淫活動進一步轉入地下，使那些以賣淫爲生的女性更容易受到虐待。目前在法國爲性服務支付或收受報酬本身並非犯罪，但拉客、拉皮條（包括經營妓院）和未成年人賣淫爲法律所禁止。但新法案將使妓女拉客合法化，轉而懲治嫖客。

***抗議：這意味着戰爭

法國右翼反對黨人民運動聯盟的許多成員對給外籍妓女發6個月暫住證持有異議，認爲這將成爲非法移民的誘因，而且，法案是否會減少皮條客和人販子也很難說。 法國多黨派約20多名議員簽署了一份請願書，稱該法案爲“說教文案”。一些名人也站出來反對法案，其中包括主演路易斯·布努埃爾1967年的電影《白日美人》的卡特琳·德納夫。

法國一些男性知識分子在雜誌上發表題爲“別碰我的妓女”的宣言，聲稱：“我們中的一些人在過去、現在或未來會有嫖妓行爲，我們並不爲此感到羞愧。每個人都有權自由出售自己的魅力。”

一小部分獨立工作並依收入納稅的妓女也表達了反對聲，稱法案嚇跑了他們的客戶，約200名妓女在法國國民議會大廈外抗議，高喊”不要碰我們的客戶”，以及“貝爾卡塞姆部長，這意味着戰爭”等口號。

據估計，法國有2萬名以上的性工作者，其中80%來自國外。法國內政部稱，大多數妓女來自東歐、非洲、中國和南美洲。

瑞典1999年通過了一項法律，對嫖客可處以六個月監禁和與收入相聯繫的罰款，這讓瑞典的街頭賣淫減少了一半，但不清楚有多少性交易轉向互聯網。目前，德國也在考慮終結長達10年的妓院合法化。