--- description: France's Parliament has passed a law that makes it illegal to pay for sex, fining offenders up to about $4,300 title: It Is Now Illegal to Pay For Sex in France image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta29d43650e3ed19e/69888e11e20a8757cba904b1/ap_298948432171.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # It Is Now Illegal to Pay for Sex in France by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 7, 2016 2:40 AM CUT  Sex workers and supporters protest near the French National Assembly in Paris on April 6, 2016, as French lawmakers take part in a final debate on a bill that would make it illegal to pay for sex Sex workers and supporters protest near the French National Assembly in Paris on April 6, 2016, as French lawmakers take part in a final debate on a bill that would make it illegal to pay for sexOlivier Donnars—AP by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 7, 2016 2:40 AM CUT France’s Parliament [passed](https://www.yahoo.com/news/french-mps-set-approve-contested-ban-paying-sex-141756288.html "undefined") a law Wednesday that makes it illegal to pay for sex. Offenders may be fined up to €3,750 (about $4,300) and required to attend classes about the conditions of sex workers. The controversial law makes France the fifth European country to criminalize the clients of prostitutes, joining Sweden, Norway, Iceland and the U.K., according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Pimping is already penalized across the region. The law also establishes measures to help prostitutes find new work, and makes it easier for foreign sex workers to acquire temporary residency permits. France’s Socialist government welcomed the new legislation. The bill’s architect Maud Olivier told AFP: “This law is essential to ending the idea that it is normal to buy someone’s body.” But some of France’s nearly 30,000 prostitutes did not share Olivier’s conviction. About 60 demonstrators, including sex workers, protested the new law outside the Parliament, some carrying a sign that read, “Don’t Liberate Me, I’ll Take Care of Myself!” \[[_AFP_](https://www.yahoo.com/news/french-mps-set-approve-contested-ban-paying-sex-141756288.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4284617/france-pay-for-sex-prostitute/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4284617/france-pay-for-sex-prostitute/"},"headline":"It Is Now Illegal to Pay for Sex in France","datePublished":"2016-04-07T02:40:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:31:35.477Z","description":"France in now the fifth European country to criminalize the clients of prostitutes","url":"https://time.com/4284617/france-pay-for-sex-prostitute/","keywords":["France","Sex","Law","Ban","paris"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta29d43650e3ed19e/69888e11e20a8757cba904b1/ap_298948432171.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta29d43650e3ed19e/69888e11e20a8757cba904b1/ap_298948432171.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"France: Sex Workers Protest in Paris","caption":"France: Sex Workers Protest in Paris","creditText":"Olivier Donnars—AP","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":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4284617/france-pay-for-sex-prostitute/","name":"It Is Now Illegal to Pay for Sex in France"}}]}] ```