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The authorities of medieval Paris attempted to confine prostitution to a particular district. Louis IX (1226–1270) designated nine streets in the Beaubourg Quartier where it would be permitted. In the early part of the 19th century, state-controlled legal brothels (then known as "maisons de tolérance" or "maisons closes") started to appear in several French cities. By law, they had to be run by a woman (typically a former prostitute), and their external appearance had to be discreet. The maisons were required to light a red lantern when they were open (from which is derived the term red-light district[1]), and the prostitutes were only permitted to leave the maisons on certain days and only if accompanied by its head. By 1810, Paris alone had 180 officially approved brothels.
During the first half of the 20th century, some Paris brothels, such as le Chabanais and le Sphinx, were internationally known for the luxury they provided.
France outlawed brothels in 1946, after a campaign by Marthe Richard. At that time there were 1,500 of them across the country, with 177 in Paris alone.[2] The backlash against them was in part due to their wartime collaboration with the Germans during the occupation of France. Twenty-two Paris brothels had been commandeered by the Germans for their exclusive use; some had made a great deal of money by catering for German officers and soldiers.[3][4] One brothel in the Montmartre District of the French capital was part of an escape network for POWs and shot-down airmen.[5]
- ^ Rossiaud 1995.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
sincitywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Moore, Matthew (1 May 2009). "French brothels 'flourished during the Nazi occupation'". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ Buisson 2009.
- ^ Regan 1992, p. 37.
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