An increasing number of French resort towns and cities are telling tourists to stop walking around in public topless or risk facing fines of up to £130.
While topless sunbathing in France has lost popularity in recent years among women, authorities in some popular French towns are clamping down on bare-chested men wandering the streets.
There is no rule banning anyone from being topless on beaches in France. However, local councils for many seaside resorts have introduced fines or new rules for those without a shirt in town centres.
Narbonne, on the south coast, has become one of the cities to introduce a ban, running until the end of September.
In the announcement, the town said the goal was to “preserve public tranquillity, respect for the living environment and the attractiveness of the city centre during the summer season,” according to French newspaper The Connexion.
Narbonne’s authorities added that “some forms of dress, which are suitable for beaches and bathing areas, are not necessarily appropriate in the streets, squares or heritage areas of the city”.
Those who are caught risk a fine of up to €150 (£130), with police responsible for this enforcement. Some 15 people have already been given this fine, the mayor of Narbonne, Bertrand Malquie, told BBC’s World at One.
“First of all, this is not about banning tourists and is certainly not about restricting personal freedom,” the mayor said.
“Narbonne is a welcoming Mediterranean city… this decision is simply about common sense and respect for shared public space.
“We have a beautiful beach where people are naturally free to dress as they wish, but when you enter the city centre, we believe the minimum standard of dress is reasonable.”
Narbonne is not the only place that threatens to hand out expensive fines for those seen without a shirt.
The seaside town of Deauville on the Côte Fleurie first introduced a fine of €17 (£14.50) for the practice, but this has now been raised to €150. Arcachon on France’s Atlantic coast also imposes fines of up to €150.
Les Sables-d'Olonne, a seaside resort also on the Atlantic coast, which imposes the same fine, called on tourists last summer to have “a little decorum, please!” in the city centre.
Yannick Moreau, the mayor of the city, said: “This is indecent behaviour that has a nasty tendency to escalate summer after summer.
“So it's time to make it clear: it is forbidden to walk around shirtless or in a swimsuit in Les Sables-d'Olonne.”
