In France, Models Now Need a Doctor's Note

Law aims to crack down on too-skinny models
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2015 8:00 AM CST
In France, Models Now Need a Doctor's Note
This Sept. 10, 2006, file photo shows a thin model on the runway at the Rosa Cha Spring 2007 fashion show in New York.   (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff, File)

Models hoping to walk Paris' runways now need a doctor's note. French lawmakers passed a law on Thursday declaring models must obtain a medical certificate showing their body mass index is healthy and "compatible with the practice of the [modeling] profession" before working jobs. Those who break the law could face six months in prison and an $82,000 fine, reports AFP.

A second law—to go into effect in January 2017 at the latest—notes a commercial image that's been Photoshopped must be labeled a "retouched photograph." Fines for violations will start at about $40,000 and could possibly reach up to 30% of the cost of the ad buy, per Women's Wear Daily. (More France stories.)

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