French Court Rules Ads Depicting Woman Tied To Rail Tracks Not Illegal

French Court Rules Ads Depicting Woman Tied To Rail Tracks Not Illegal

A French court has ruled in favour of a campaign depicting a woman tied to train tracks.

The posters, which were placed around the French town of Béziers last December, were advertising a push to get high-speed trains (TGV) built in the region.

Considered graphic and abusive towards women, the posters were accompanied by the tagline, ‘With the TGV she would have suffered less!’.

Criticism of the campaign was swift, with many claiming the images promoted and mocked gender-based violence.

According to The Guardian, the campaign came just months after Emilie Hallouin was killed by her partner in northern France after being tied to TGV tracks.

Slamming the far-right mayor of Béziers, Robert Ménard, French senator Laurence Rossignol called the posters “despicable”.

“The despicable Robert Ménard has killed her a second time.”

In response, Ménard tweeted: “The outrageous and paranoid reactions to our poster speak volumes about the moral order that plagues the country.”

Despite complaints, the administrative court in Montpellier called the posters “a doubtful and provocative humour”.

Adding the posters do not “promote violence against women … and do not target any type of person in particular”.

“These posters are not an attack on human dignity and do not constitute a form of harassment with regard to those of a female sex,” the court found.




Latest News

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
  • Media

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm

Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
  • Advertising

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA  Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]