Is France Over? New Laws To Merde On Your Parade

Ahh, oui, gay Pareeee, citeee of l’amour where we Parisiens smoke les cigarettes and drink ze wine all day is, how you say? Bohémien?

Maybe not anymore. France, the country once known for indulgence, freedom, and luxury has been doing some legal housecleaning in the past few years that may change its image permanently. What, I cannot smoke here? Non! Picnic with my wine? Non!

We want to tell the Frenchies to chillez, especially when we learned today that topless sunbathing, what once seemed like the country’s summer staple, is on the outs, with about a quarter of French women who oppose nude tanning, and groups trying to institute no-nudity rules. Can you hear the cries of men across the world? [NY Mag]

Of course, you probably know that you can’t smoke in bars and restaurants anymore, which is a good, healthy thing. But sometimes when you go to Paris, don’t you just want to “experience it” like it should be? Just a little? Plus, in an effort to crackdown on any fun, there’s also been a ban on public drinking—a longtime favorite of Paris city residents and tourists alike—to have romantic picnics on the banks of the Seine, or meet up with friends on bridges with a bottle. Apparently, some type of open container law did exist, but no one cared. Now, policia are actually enforcing it. Boo. [The Paris Blog]

Whereas France was once a place known for its liberal views on alcohol (and a haven for underage study abroad kids), that too has gone out the window, when back in March, open bars were banned and the drinking age was raised to 18. When French people heard this, they said, “There was a drinking age? Impossible!”

As for that laissez-faire attitude and generous 35-hour work week with loads of vacation? A new bill was passed last week, allowing more businesses to stay open on Sundays, the most quiet and coveted day of the week. Good for some people who might actually want to buy groceries on Sunday, bad for the people who have to sell them to you. [WSJ]

Lastly, being a teen is now no fun because you can’t be in a gang and soon, you won’t be able to download illegal music from the internet because of this creepy surveillance dubbed Big Brother. WTF, dudes? Total bummer for les Crippes et les Bloodes.

Le sigh.