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08th May 2017

France has officially banned dangerously thin models

Katie Mythen-Lynch

Employers in France will face fines of up to €75k and a six month jail sentence for hiring models without a valid doctor’s note to prove they are of a healthy weight.

Legislation, aimed at quashing the culture of starvation, eating disorders and malnourishment in the fashion capital of Paris, was originally passed by France’s National Assembly in 2015 but will come into force on October 1.

A doctor’s examination will be required to determine whether every model is of a healthy BMI before he or she are allowed set foot on the catwalk.

What’s more, magazines and publications that use Photoshop to digitally alter commercial advertisements of models will have to publish the words “retouched photograph” on the ad.

The fines for each violation could stretch to a whopping 30 per cent of the ad’s production budget.

“Exposing young people to normative and unrealistic images of bodies leads to a sense of self-depreciation and poor self-esteem that can impact health-related behaviour,” said France’s Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Marisol Touraine.