French MPs have approved a law to ban the use of “excessively thin” fashion models in the hope of combatting anorexia in the country.
The legislation makes it illegal for agencies to hire or pay a model who has a Body Mass Index (BMI) under a certain level. (The BMI figure is yet to be defined.)
Those who break the law will face fines of up to €75,000 and/or six months in prison.
Separate measures were also passed to make it illegal for websites to condone or promote anorexia and make it compulsory for agencies to mark any doctored photographs as such.
While France is not the first country to introduce legislation of this nature, the decision has received a mix reaction with some saying that it will discriminate against models who are “naturally thin.”
