PARIS - France's parliament is debating a controversial bill that would crack down on prostitution by penalising people who pay for sex, while offering prostitutes help to quit the profession.
The bill, which marks a turning point in the country's efforts to eradicate the sex trade, would scrap existing fines and prison sentences for prostitutes, replacing them with sanctions against their customers.
"There would be no prostitution without clients - that goes without saying. But we also know there will always be clients for prostitution," Maud Olivier, one of two Socialist Party MPs behind the bill, wrote in a report to parliament.
"Our ambition should be to try to reduce the number."
At present, prostitutes face a fine of 3,750 euros (165,000 baht) and a two-month prison sentence for soliciting people to pay for sex.
Under the new legislation, people caught buying sex would be fined 1,500 euros or be required to attend a course about the conditions in which prostitution is carried out - in some cases both. For repeat offenders, the fine would be doubled.
Sex workers, meanwhile, would be given help to find other work. Foreign nationals would be given the option to remain legally in France.
The legislation, which has been largely opposed by prostitutes, has divided public opinion.
Associations working with prostitutes, such as the medical charity Medecins du Monde, have warned that penalising customers would drive prostitution underground, making prostitutes more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
A group of celebrity journalists, authors, artists and professionals also came out against the bill in a manifesto entitled "Hands Off My Whore", arguing that "everyone has the right to freely sell their charms".
Actress Catherine Deneuve and singer Charles Aznavour signed a more measured petition, which argued the bill was misguided and sanctimonious.
France is estimated to have between 20,000 and 40,000 prostitutes. Eighty to 90% are estimated to be foreign nationals, mostly working for sex traffickers.