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Paris Bans ‘Sexist and Discriminatory’ Ads

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Activists hold placards which read "Sexist" during a demonstration in front of a Yves Saint Laurent shop in Paris
Activists hold placards which read "Sexist" during a demonstration in front of a Yves Saint Laurent shop in Paris, France, March 7, 2017. France's advertising watchdog on Monday said it had asked French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent to modify two ads from its latest campaign after receiving 50 complaints that they were "degrading" to women.Philippe Wojazer—Reuters
By Samantha Cooney

Paris is taking steps to get rid of “sexist and discriminatory” ads around the city.

Business Insider reports that the Council of Paris voted on a new contract for its outdoor advertisements that bans promotional images that portray sexist stereotypes, homophobic images, discrimination of minorities or religious groups, ageist images or any other “degrading, dehumanizing or offensive representations of women and men,” according to Business Insider. The contract will take effect in November.

“Paris is showing the way by taking all possible actions to prevent the distribution and promotion of images degrading to certain categories of citizens,” Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in a press release, according to Business Insider.

The decision comes after French fashion brand Saint Laurent came under fire for ads of scantily clad women displayed around Paris. A French watchdog group asked the design house to modify the ads after receiving complaints that the ads were “degrading” to women.

Paris isn’t the first city to take this step. In June 2016, London Mayor Sadiq Khan moved to ban “body-shaming” advertisements from the city’s transport network. That same month, Geneva Mayor Guillaume Barazzone said he also wanted to ban sexist, racist and homophobic materials as well.

[Business Insider]

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Write to Samantha Cooney at samantha.cooney@time.com