France Bans Ultra-Thin Models

French parliament has adopted a bill aimed at banning the use of fashion models deemed to be “excessively thin”.

Models will need a doctor’s certificate that their health is “compatible with the practice of the profession”.

Employers who break the law could face up to six months in jail and a €75,000 fine ($81,000).

A previous version of the bill had suggested a minimum Body Mass Index (BMI) for models, prompting protests from modeling agencies in France.

The final draft approved on December 17 allows doctors to decide whether a model is too thin by taking into account their weight, age, and body shape.

It also says that digitally altered images making a model’s silhouette “narrower or wider” should be labeled “touched up”.

France is not the first country to legislate on underweight models – Italy, Spain and Israel have all done so.

Anorexia affects between 30,000 to 40,000 people in France, 90% of whom are women.