Is prostitution legal in France?
Short answer: Legal to sell, illegal to buy. The details decide — what the law says, how it is enforced, and what that means in practice.
Legal to sell, illegal to buy
18+ only. Informational; legality varies by country.
What the law says
Selling sex is legal, but the 2016 law criminalised buying it: clients face a €1,500 fine (€3,750 for repeats) plus mandatory awareness courses. Brothels have been illegal since the 1946 Marthe Richard law; the sector is escort-based and indoors. A decade of enforcement pushed transactions behind closed doors — fines are issued, but detection is rare.
Selling sex is legal, but since the 2016 law buying it is a criminal offence for clients (fines and mandatory awareness courses). Brothels are illegal.
What it means in practice
Client-side illegality is the headline: the fine applies to the buyer, not the worker. In practice enforcement targets street settings; indoor escort meetings are essentially unpoliced. Know the rule and weigh it yourself.
Where it happens
Escort-based sector online; brothels are illegal.
Cities we cover
City-level specifics — prices by district, safety, current enforcement — on each city page.
Questions
Is prostitution legal in France?
Short answer: Legal to sell, illegal to buy. Below: what the law says, how it is enforced in practice, and what that means for visitors.
Does “legal” mean safe?
No. Legality and safety are different questions: regulated markets still see scams and robberies, informally tolerated ones carry enforcement risk. Check what travelers report on each city page.
What about enforcement?
Written law and street-level enforcement are not the same thing: raids and local crackdowns come and go. For how the law is actually applied city by city right now, ask.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws and enforcement change — check what the law says where you are before acting on anything here.