French Senate Votes To Ban Beauty Pageants For Girls Younger Than 16

Bill aims to prevent "hypersexualization"

PARIS, Sept. 18 (UPI) — A bill that supporters said would end the "hypersexualization" of young girls in beauty pageants has been approved by France's Senate, officials say.

The bill bans such pageants for girls under 16, and imposes stiff penalties on event organizers, Radio France International reported Wednesday.

Sen. Chantal Jouanno, who sponsored the bill, argued before the vote that girls shouldn't be allowed to believe "their only value is their looks from a very young age."