--- title: France Might Ban Dangerously Thin Models description: It would join Israel, Spain, and Italy in legislating health in fashion canonical: https://time.com/3747480/france-dangerously-thin-models-ban/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-17T16:07:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:32.753Z og:title: France Might Ban Dangerously Thin Models og:description: It would join Israel, Spain, and Italy in legislating health in fashion og:url: https://time.com/3747480/france-dangerously-thin-models-ban/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91c15c4a9cc1d0ee/698783ea2dce0129499de117/isabelle-caro.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: "Barbareschi Sciok": Italian TV Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: France Might Ban Dangerously Thin Models twitter:description: It would join Israel, Spain, and Italy in legislating health in fashion twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91c15c4a9cc1d0ee/698783ea2dce0129499de117/isabelle-caro.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # France Might Ban Dangerously Thin Models ## Video: Watch an Entire Fashion Show in 1 Minute [Watch (HLS stream): Watch an Entire Fashion Show in 1 Minute](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/co02vdBd.m3u8) (0:57)  _Published 2014-09-12. Watch a NYFW show in one minute from setup to takedown_ by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Mar 17, 2015 4:07 PM UTC  Isabelle Caro attends the Barbareschi Sciok Italian TV Show at La7 Studios on March 5, 2010 in Rome, Italy. Isabelle Caro attends the Barbareschi Sciok Italian TV Show at La7 Studios on March 5, 2010 in Rome, Italy.Ernesto Ruscio—Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Mar 17, 2015 4:07 PM UTC In 2007, French fashion model Isabelle Caro posed for a [shocking](http://www.wunrn.com/news/2007/10%5F07/10%5F22%5F07/102207%5Fcampaign.htm) anti-anorexia campaign before succumbing to the disease. She [died](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/world/europe/31caro.html?%5Fr=0) at 28. Eight years later, France is considering a bill that would bar models who are deemed too thin from runways and fashion spreads. Fashion houses could be fined 75,000 euros ($80,000) and staffers who hire those deemed underweight could potentially be jailed for up to six months. The couture capital’s government will begin debating the bill Tuesday and [_Reuters_](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/16/uk-france-fashion-anorexia-idUKKBN0MC1PX20150316)reports it is “likely” to pass. “It’s important for fashion models to say that they need to eat well and take care of their health, especially for young women who look to the models as an aesthetic ideal,” Health Minister Marisol Touraine told BFM TV on Monday, _Reuters_ reports. France wouldn’t be the first country to legislate health in fashion. [Israel](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-17450275), [Spain](http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/13/spain.models/) and [Italy](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/dec/03/italy.barbaramcmahon) all have laws that regulate the use of underweight models. Although the [Council of Fashion Designers of America has released various health guidelines](http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG9043070/Model-health-guidelines-for-New-York-Fashion-Week-released-by-the-CFDA.html) for the fashion industry, the government has remained uninvolved. But what would qualify as “too-thin?” According to Reuters, models would require medical certificates that prove they have a BMI of 18, which is approximately 121 pounds for a 5’7″ height, in order to book a job. The bill would also penalize pro-anorexia websites. In the last year, [high fashion has embraced more full-figured models](http://time.com/3667580/mattel-barbie-earnings-plus-size-body-image/). Continuing legislation could mean unattainable beauty standards might finally be going out of vogue. _Read next:_ [_Rihanna Is the First Black Woman to be the Face of Christian Dior_](http://time.com/3746562/rihanna-christian-dior/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3747480/france-dangerously-thin-models-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3747480/france-dangerously-thin-models-ban/"},"headline":"France Might Ban Dangerously Thin Models","datePublished":"2015-03-17T16:07:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:32.753Z","description":"It would join Israel, Spain, and Italy in legislating health in fashion","url":"https://time.com/3747480/france-dangerously-thin-models-ban/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Living","Body Image","modeling"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91c15c4a9cc1d0ee/698783ea2dce0129499de117/isabelle-caro.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91c15c4a9cc1d0ee/698783ea2dce0129499de117/isabelle-caro.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Barbareschi Sciok\": Italian TV Show","caption":"\"Barbareschi Sciok\": Italian TV Show","creditText":"Ernesto Ruscio—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3747480/france-dangerously-thin-models-ban/","name":"France Might Ban Dangerously Thin Models"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch an Entire Fashion Show in 1 Minute","description":"Watch a NYFW show in one minute from setup to takedown","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/co02vdBd/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-12T14:04:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/co02vdBd.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3747480/france-dangerously-thin-models-ban/","duration":"PT57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3747480/france-dangerously-thin-models-ban/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```