Topless tourists told to cover up or pay up

Topless tourists told to cover up or pay up

August 16th, 2010 |

Britons embarking on a French holiday this summer have been warned to keep their clothes on or risk being charged a fine.

Walking around town topless or in a bikini has been banned in coastal resorts such as St Tropez and Cannes for many years now. However, inland cities are now following suit in a bid to maintain standards of hygiene and uphold ’public decency’.

According to the Independent, the southern city of Perpignan is the latest to clamp down on scantily-clad visitors, following the Provencal city of Cavaillon’s decision to introduce a similar ban earlier this year.

Under the new rules, anyone who refuses to cover up after being approached by the police will now face a fine of up to €38 (£31). It is thought that Perpignan introduced the new law after some of its citizens complained at seeing a group of British rugby fans strip off in the town centre.

Perpignan’s head of security, Pierre Parrat, was keen to point out that the measures were a response to specific complaints rather than a reaction to a perceived fall in standards. “We’re not saying there’s been a general moral decline, but some people have complained,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

‘Decency of dress and behaviour’ is compulsory in Paris, but unlike in Perpignan and other cities, visitors are not fined if they are caught breaking the rules. Parisians are often considered more sensitive than most when it comes to flashing bare skin in public, with bare male torsos particularly frowned upon.

Justifying this stance, a waiter from Paris told Le Parisien: “A girl in a bikini in the centre of town is lovely, but children should not have to see hairy chests.”