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Cat callers in France face €90 fines as Paris targets sex pests with animal campaign

Sexual harassment in public places will be punished by a new on-the-spot fine of €90, the government has announced. The new law comes just as a wild animal-themed campaign to raise awareness of the scourge is launched on the Paris Metro.

Published: 6 March 2018 13:47 CET
Cat callers in France face €90 fines as Paris targets sex pests with animal campaign
Photo: IDF Mobilités
The #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment started in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein affair has led to soul-searching in France, where persistent male advances are sometimes passed off as harmless flirtation.
   
Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux confirmed that the fines for street harassment would start at  €90, in line with a parliamentary report recommending a penalty of €90-€750, depending on how fast the offender pays up.
 
However he admitted it would be hard to catch offenders in the act. 
 
   
Only two percent had filed a police complaint, even though in 86 percent of cases a witness was present.
   
“We have to put a stop to that,” Griveaux said.
 
Photo: IDF Mobilités
 
The announcement comes as a campaign is launched on the Paris Metro and RER to spotlight the issue of sexual harassment which has at one time affected most women using the system. 
 
The campaign which bears the slogan “Never minimize sexual harassment” depicts images of women holding onto the train pole as predators, including a shark, bear and wolves, threaten them. 
 
The aim is to encourage passengers to react when they witness harassment, as well as to promote the emergency phone number 3117 (or 31177 if sending a text), which can be used to report incidents of sexual harassment.  
 
Leaflets will also be available in stations to remind people that sexual harassment is a crime which can result in up to five years in prison and up to €75,000 fines in cases of forced kisses, groping, rubbing and other kinds of sexual assault.
 
In a statement, Marlene Schiappa, State Secretary for Equality between Women and Men, said: “These actions are an effective complement to government action.” 
   
Schiappa has also said she expects the “symbolic value” alone of the new law to have a dissuasive effect.
 
Photo: IDF Mobilités
 
 
“I think the biggest problems are on the Metro. It always happens that when the train gets busy, men will seize the moment to touch you,” Emeline Augris, a 40-year-old Parisian woman previously told The Local.
 
“That's happened to me several times and when it's happening you can't tell who it is. It's so cowardly,” she added.
   
Belgium and Portugal are among the other European countries to have introduced penalties for verbal sexual abuse, with mixed results.
   
In Belgium, a man who verbally abused a female police officer recently became the first person to be convicted under the law that criminalises sexism in a public place, which has been in place since 2014.
 
The man was slapped with a fine of €3,000 by a Brussels criminal court and he was warned that a failure to pay would lead to a month in prison.
 
READ ALSO:
Women in Paris tell their stories of being groped, pestered and sexually harassed

PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Published: 14 February 2024 13:01 CET
Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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