France, like many nations, boasts a selection of unusual laws covering the areas of osculation, alcoholic beverages and the innocence of minors. Among France’s extensive corpus of some 15,500 laws, a significant number stand as eyebrow-raising relics from the annals of history, akin to an oversight perpetuated from the Middle Ages.
Still, it would be safe to assume that the obligation to maintain an emergency bale of hay to meet the royal ungulates would hardly raise anyone’s legal concerns today. Some of these unusual laws seem to have arisen from strange anecdotes, causing amusement as we discover the origin of France’s strangest regulations. However, the humor quickly fades when we consider how certain eccentric laws in France persist in encroaching on the rights of its female population.
READ I| Top 10 countries with the longest working hours in the world in 2023
List of 7 common things banned in France
Let’s take a look at 7 French laws that must be strange to people:
- E-Scooters
- Good bye
- Photographing the police or their vehicles
- Religious symbols and Muslim headdress
- Alcohol in the workplace
- Disinheritance of children
- French music on French radio stations
The list is based on various reports and individually verified using various sources available online.
READ ALSO – List of the 10 most educated countries in the world in 2023
Common things banned in France
1. E-Scooters
In a watershed moment, Paris, the continent’s leader, officially banned privately owned e-scooters on fateful Friday. This decree followed an April referendum in which Parisians, albeit with a modest voter turnout, overwhelmingly approved the ban. Namely, privately owned e-scooters, which have escaped the clutches of municipal regulations, remain exempt from the restrictions.
2. Farewells
A celebrated regulation from 1910, which is still technically enforced in France, explicitly prohibits kissing on train platforms. This unusual edict was implemented just before the turn of the First World War when soldiers, leaving for the front, said an emotional farewell to their loved ones, which led to considerable delays. This bill emerged as an attempt to prevent platform impasses caused by heartfelt farewells between families and couples. Although it remains in the legal annals, this law carries no formal penalties, allowing for the safe exchange of kisses before entering the train.
ALSO READ – OECD countries: Top 3 countries where Indians are immigrating to
3. Photographing the police or their vehicles
Article 24 expressly criminalizes the dissemination, by any conceivable means or media, of the image of a police officer or gendarme, with the aim of impairing their physical or mental integrity during a police operation. Violators face a prison sentence of up to one year and a fine of 45,000 euros. Subsequent amendments clarify that the intent to cause harm must be obvious, and the law should not infringe on freedom of the press.
4. Religious symbols and the Muslim cap
In a recent proclamation, the French government decreed a ban on the traditional garment, the abaya, which some Muslim students wear over their clothes, all in the name of secularism. The announcement by Education Minister Gabriel Attal came almost two decades after the introduction of a law restricting religious clothing and symbols in French schools.
5. Alcohol in the workplace
Employers, when faced with potential risks to their workforce or third parties, retain the power to prohibit alcohol consumption, both inside and outside the workplace, for certain categories of employees, as established by recent court rulings. Within the borders of France, alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, cider and perry are allowed in workplaces, while other alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited. In circumstances where the consumption of these permitted beverages could endanger the welfare of employees, employers must implement measures to ensure their safety and prevent possible accidents. Such measures must be proportionate to their purpose.
6. Disinheritance of children
Under French law, disinheriting one’s children is not a viable option, as part of one’s estate is legally reserved for them. In the case of one child, fifty percent of the inheritance is left to the offspring, while two thirds is distributed in the case of two children. In the case of three or more children, three-quarters of the inheritance is determined among them. However, it is permissible to give a certain child a larger share than his siblings. Moreover, French inheritance laws grant certain privileges to spouses, even in cases of divorce or separation pending at the time of the deceased’s death. If a spouse shares children with the deceased, they can either inherit as usufructuary, allowing them to use the estate without changing it, or they can acquire full ownership of a quarter of the estate. Conversely, if the deceased has children from another partner, the latter option is the only prerogative available to the spouse.
7. French music on French radio stations
In 1994, a law emerged requiring all French radio stations to guarantee that at least 40% of the songs on their playlists were in French. This law, originally intended to preserve French culture and mitigate the encroachment of Anglo-Saxon influence, was intended to nurture native talent. However, in 2015 several radio stations opposed this law when French authorities accused them of playing popular French songs over and over to meet the quota. In response, the government proposed capping the frequency of the most popular French songs to ensure a diverse range of tunes graced the airwaves.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: newstars.edu.vn