Fashion forward France clamps down on use of ’dangerously thin women’

Politicians in fashion powerhouse France have moved to make it a crime to use anorexic models or encourage anorexia in a crackdown on the glorification of dangerously thin women.

Other countries including Israel and Spain have taken similar action. The French measures would only apply within France, but could have symbolic impact beyond, because of its influence in setting style trends around the world.

“It’s not just about protecting the models but also teenagers, because this body-image pressure also affects them and contributes to the emergence of eating disorders and tendencies to eat less and less”, said Olivier Veran, a neurologist and legislator who championed the anorexia measure.