Click to agree to our updated Privacy Policy and Use of Cookies. The majority are in relationships, have children and enjoy good social situations. So what are these men looking for? And will they stop if there is a risk of being fined or jailed? Some of these so-called patrons agreed to answer questions by email on the condition that they would not be named all used aliases.
Of the 50 people we contacted via websites dedicated to prostitution, seven replied, though sometimes hesitantly. These are men who are willing to spend or euros for a one-hour meeting with an escort. They work in finance, marketing and IT. Prostitution offers a certain number of guarantees: It is easy, discreet and requires no commitment. Jean is the only one to have met with a woman who was clearly forced to work as a prostitute. There are unmistakable forerunners.
All vehemently condemn pimping and human trafficking in the strongest terms. And all but Jean say they have met only women who freely and willingly sell their services. In their minds, coercion is associated with physical abuse but not with financial needs. In fact, they dislike the thought that prostitutes would do it just to earn a living. People who oppose prostitution think of the women as victims, that they are forced to sell what should not be sold. He is the only one, and he is also the one who patronizes prostitutes the least: not even once a year, as opposed to up to three times a month for the others.
And yet, they do not feel threatened by the legislation. Subscribe to our newsletter for more great reads. France is virtually shut down now by national strikes over pension reform. But from Denmark to UK to Germany, social change and the popular movements resisting have their own histories. Reforming the retirement system is necessary, but must be be done in a way and at a pace that won't tear an already divided French society further apart.
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