Packing for Paris? Old law bans pants for women
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In this Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013, file photo, models wear creations by French fashion designer Alexandre Vauthier as part of his Women's Spring/Summer 2013 Haute Couture fashion collection, in Paris. If it isn’t already daunting enough to pack for a trip to fashionable Paris, female visitors, beware: It’s illegal to wear pants. -- PHOTO: AP
PARIS (AP) - If it isn't already daunting enough to pack for a trip to fashionable Paris, female visitors, beware: It's illegal to wear pants.
So says a law dating from 1800 that has never been taken off the books - only relaxed to allow women the comfort of two legs when riding bicycles or horses.
French parliamentarians have occasionally pushed for the law to be set aside, and a senator from the opposition UMP party recently asked again for the government to do just that.
The Ministry for Women's Rights said what everyone was thinking last week: This law has been superseded by other laws, including the Constitution's commitment to equal rights.
