NextFin News - On December 9, 2025, Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a Member of Parliament representing the French far-right party Rassemblement National (RN), announced his intention to introduce legislation aimed at reopening legalized brothels under a novel cooperative model managed and owned by sex workers themselves. This initiative, presented in Paris to the National Assembly's Finance Commission, seeks to address persistent precariousness and safety concerns faced by sex workers under current laws.
Brothels, or "maisons closes," have been illegal in France since the 1946 Marthe Richard law, with prostitution itself not outlawed but highly regulated. The 2016 legislation under former President François Hollande criminalized clients of sex workers rather than sex workers themselves, intending to curb demand and provide exit pathways and social support for sex workers. However, Tanguy argues this law has backfired, forcing sex work underground and exposing workers to violence and exploitation.
Tanguy drew from personal experience in Paris' Bois de Boulogne, highlighting the vulnerabilities and dangers sex workers face today due to the criminalization of their clients, which he describes as "the height of bourgeois hypocrisy." His bill proposes transforming brothels into workers' cooperatives, emphasizing autonomy, improved health and safety standards, and labor rights protections. He acknowledges the need for rebranding away from the stigmatized term "brothel."
The RN leader Marine Le Pen has expressed support for the initiative, reinforcing the party's evolving stance on sex work safety and regulation, a shift from previous positions focused more on anti-immigration rhetoric related to sex trafficking. Another RN MP, Sébastien Chenu, also endorsed regulation to enhance sex workers' security, citing party discussions with sex worker unions such as STRASS. Nevertheless, the proposal is controversial and largely opposed by established sex worker organizations and advocates who reject any state-recognized brothel system, fearing it perpetuates exploitation.
This legislative push contrasts with cross-party attempts like Republican MP Philippe Juvin's 2024 bill to improve working conditions without reinstating brothels. France's complex regulatory landscape sits amid broader European trends; countries like Belgium, Switzerland, and New Zealand offer various models ranging from full decriminalization to legalized employment contracts, seeking to balance safety, autonomy, and human rights.
Fundamentally, Tanguy's approach reflects a pragmatic response to the entrenched realities of sex work in France, acknowledging that prohibitionist policies have not eradicated demand or exploitation but have compromised worker safety and hindered regulation. By empowering sex workers cooperative ownership, the bill aims to reduce harm, formalize operations, and improve social protections, though success depends on overcoming political resistance and deep societal taboos.
Looking forward, the proposed law may ignite intensified debates over prostitution policy in France, pushing mainstream parties and civil society to confront contradictions between moral postures and pragmatic labor rights. Economically, regulated cooperatives could generate taxable revenue and reduce illicit market activity, but will require robust oversight to prevent new forms of exploitation.
As the discussion unfolds, the French experience will be closely watched by other jurisdictions grappling with sex work regulation, highlighting how political ideologies intersect with public health, human rights, and economic realities in shaping policy frameworks. Under U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, international perspectives on sex industry regulation remain largely conservative, which may affect transatlantic policy dialogues.
The coming months will reveal whether the RN can build legislative momentum for a cooperative framework and catalyze a shift toward safer, worker-led regulation in the sensitive and contested domain of sex work.
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