# The French are fighting sexual harassment

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-are-fighting-sexual-harassment/821915>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 25, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-are-fighting-sexual-harassment/821915 "2018-09-25T22:46:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-are-fighting-sexual-harassment/821915/1 "2018-09-25T22:46:54Z")

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[Paris man jailed for three months for slapping woman’s bottom](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/25/paris-man-jailed-for-slapping-womans-bottom)

> [@The Guardian](#):
>
> A man who slapped a woman’s bottom on a bus near Paris has been jailed for three months and, in a first under a new law against catcalling, also fined for lewd remarks about her physique.
> 
> The man, inebriated when he boarded the rush-hour bus, smacked the 21-year-old on the buttocks and made an insulting comment about her breasts, before a squabble with the bus driver, who jammed the doors shut while police were alerted.

Good work by all concerned.

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**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-are-fighting-sexual-harassment/821915/2 "2018-09-25T23:18:53Z")

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> [@Quartz](#):
>
> [Paris man jailed for three months for slapping woman’s bottom](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/25/paris-man-jailed-for-slapping-womans-bottom)
> 
> Good work by all concerned.

If I slapped a stranger on a bus here in Seattle, I expect I’d get a similar sentence. I’m not sure why you (and the Guardian) find this particularly newsworthy.

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**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-are-fighting-sexual-harassment/821915/3 "2018-09-25T23:55:21Z")

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Didn’t they invent it?

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**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-are-fighting-sexual-harassment/821915/4 "2018-09-26T04:59:25Z")

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> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> If I slapped a stranger on a bus here in Seattle, I expect I’d get a similar sentence. I’m not sure why you (and the Guardian) find this particularly newsworthy.

You may wish to do some research into the stereotypes regarding the French.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-are-fighting-sexual-harassment/821915/5 "2018-09-26T05:34:12Z")

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> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> If I slapped a stranger on a bus here in Seattle, I expect I’d get a similar sentence. I’m not sure why you (and the Guardian) find this particularly newsworthy.

Because until very recently, it wouldn’t have been the case; also because, as the quote in the OP indicates, it’s the first case of someone breaking the brand-new shiny law against catcalls. Welcome to the 21st century, we’ve been in it for a while now.

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**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-french-are-fighting-sexual-harassment/821915/6 "2018-09-26T07:11:07Z")

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> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> If I slapped a stranger on a bus here in Seattle, I expect I’d get a similar sentence. I’m not sure why you (and the Guardian) find this particularly newsworthy.

Do you not know the nationality of the OP and the place where the \*Guardian \*is published. 😛