French lawmakers on Wednesday approved a controversial bill that will make the clients of prostitutes liable for fines starting at 1,500 euros ($2,000).
The draft anti-prostitution law was approved by the lower-house National Assembly with 268 deputies voting in favour, 138 voting against and 79 abstaining.
The bill, which now has to receive the approval of the upper-house Senate, was inspired by similar legislation in Sweden which penalises prostitutes' clients with the aim of eliminating the world's oldest profession.
It was sponsored by women's rights minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who hailed Wednesday's vote as "the end of a long road strewn with pitfalls".
Campaigners for the abolition of prostitution welcomed a "historic advance".
"France has placed itself at the side of those who prostitute themselves, against those who take advantage of their vulnerability," campaign group the Mouvement du Nid said in a statement.
Critics, who include some of France's most prominent celebrities, say the legislation will simply push prostitution further underground and make the women who earn their living from it more vulnerable to abuse.
Paying or accepting payment for sex currently is not, in itself, a crime in France. But soliciting, pimping (which includes running brothels) and the sale of sex by minors are prohibited.
The new bill decriminalises soliciting while shifting the focus of policing efforts to the clients.
20,000 sex workers in France
The government says it is aimed at preventing violence against women and protecting the large majority of prostitutes who are victims of trafficking gangs.
Under its terms, anyone found to have purchased the services of a prostitute will be fined 1,500 euros for a first offence and more than double that for subsequent breaches.
Offenders may however be offered the alternative of going on a course designed to raise awareness of the realities of prostitution and the human misery that underpins much of it.
In Sweden, a law passed in 1999 which exposes users to possible six-month prison terms and income-related fines has reduced street prostitution by half since it was adopted, but it is not clear how much of that trade has simply moved to the Internet.
Norway and Finland have moved in a similar direction and Germany is currently considering reversing its decade-old experiment with legalising brothels.
There are an estimated 20,000-plus sex workers in France, more than 80 percent of whom come from abroad. According to the interior ministry, most of them come from eastern Europe, Africa, China and South America.
The bill has provisions to help prostitutes who want to get out of the profession, for which a budget of 20 million euros per year has been allocated.
Those include granting some foreigners six-month, renewable residence permits to make it easier for them to find other work.
Many members of the opposition rightwing UMP party took exception to this clause, arguing that it provides an incentive for illegal immigration.
As well as the issue of whether the legislation will lead to a reduction in the exploitation of prostitutes by pimps and people traffickers, there has been a debate in France over the fundamental principle of whether the state should seek to police the sale of sex.
About two dozen lawmakers from different parties signed a petition describing the bill as "a moralistic text", while a group of celebrities and cultural figures also came out against it.
Among them was Catherine Deneuve, the veteran actress who starred in Luis Bunuel's 1967 film "Belle de Jour", which explores the relationship between prostitution and sexuality.
A group styling themselves as the "343 Bastards" issued a manifesto entitled "Don't touch my whore!" and there was less predictable opposition to the legal text from Elisabeth Baninter, one of France's most prominent feminists, who argued that it was based on a simplistic and stereotypical view of male sexuality and its relationship to violence against women.
The small proportion of prostitutes who work independently -- and who pay tax on their earnings -- have also been vocal in their opposition to a bill they say has already scared clients away.
About 200 prostitutes protested outside the National Assembly, shouting "Don't touch my client!" and "Minister Belkacem, this means war!
据法新社12月5日报道，法国国民议会下院12月4日以268票赞成、138票反对、79票弃权通过反卖淫法案，规定将对嫖客处以1500欧元（约2000美元）的罚款。但法案还需送交法国上议院进行表决。
***正方：历史进步
倡议并推动这项法案的法国妇女权益部长纳贾·瓦洛-贝尔卡塞姆称赞5日的投票终结了“充满陷阱的漫长之路”。 反卖淫组织“爱巢运动”在声明中说：“法国站在妓女一边，反对那些利用她们的脆弱的人。”
法国政府表示，法案旨在阻止对妇女的暴力侵害，保护绝大多数被犯罪团伙操纵的受害妓女。根据条款，嫖客初犯将被罚款1500欧元，如果再犯，罚金将在两倍以上。
***反方：卖淫地下化
包括法国名人在内的一些批评人士称，该法案只会让卖淫活动进一步转入地下，使那些以卖淫为生的女性更容易受到虐待。目前在法国为性服务支付或收受报酬本身并非犯罪，但拉客、拉皮条（包括经营妓院）和未成年人卖淫为法律所禁止。但新法案将使妓女拉客合法化，转而惩治嫖客。
***抗议：这意味着战争
法国右翼反对党人民运动联盟的许多成员对 给外籍妓女发6个月暂住证持有异议，认为这将成为非法移民的诱因，而且，法案是否会减少皮条客和人贩子也很难说。 法国多党派约20多名议员签署了一份请愿书，称该法案为“说教文案”。一些名人也站出来反对法案，其中包括主演路易斯·布努埃尔1967年的电影《白日美 人》的卡特琳·德纳夫。
法国一些男性知识分子在杂志上发表题为“别碰我的妓女”的宣言，声称：“我们中的一些人在过去、现在或未来会有嫖妓行为，我们并不为此感到羞愧。每个人都有权自由出售自己的魅力。”
一小部分独立工作并依收入纳税的妓女也表达了反对声，称法案吓跑了他们的客户，约200名妓女在法国国民议会大厦外抗议，高喊”不要碰我们的客户”，以及“贝尔卡塞姆部长，这意味着战争”等口号。
据估计，法国有2万名以上的性工作者，其中80%来自国外。法国内政部称，大多数妓女来自东欧、非洲、中国和南美洲。
瑞典1999年通过了一项法律，对嫖客可处以六个月监禁和与收入相联系的罚款，这让瑞典的街头卖淫减少了一半，但不清楚有多少性交易转向互联网。目前，德国也在考虑终结长达10年的妓院合法化。