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‘Love is blind, walkers are not’: French town puts up signs to deter people having sex in woods
Police are called on average two or three times a week
Walkers, joggers and families heading out on the parcours de santé (outdoor fitness trail) in the woods at Thaon-les-Vosges (Vosges, Grand Est) have for some time been getting rather more than fresh air and exercise.
The trail has long been known as a meeting place for people seeking sex in the open air, mainly men, and is even listed on specialist websites. The result is that a spot used by runners, dog walkers and young children has also become a regular venue for activities of a very different kind.
Now the town hall has decided to tackle the issue head-on – with a series of tongue-in-cheek signs.
Two to three police call-outs a week
Mayor Cédric Haxaire told Le Figaro that the town had been aware of the problem “for a very long time”, adding that the site receives visitors “very, very regularly”. Those who turn up are, he quipped to local radio station Ici Lorraine, “clearly not there to play Cluedo”.
According to the town hall, the municipal police are called on average two or three times a week, often after parents complain that their children have witnessed scenes unsuitable for under-18s.
“People can do what they like,” Mr Haxaire said, “but when children come across scenes that are not appropriate, it becomes a genuine problem.”
The council has already tried several ways to discourage them, including installing cameras and closing part of the access road, but none has worked. With complaints from residents mounting, the mayor said he felt he had to act.
‘There are hotels, you know’
Earlier this month, seven signs dreamt up by the town’s communications team and made by a local craftsman were put up at the main entrances to the trail.
The messages lean heavily on wit. One reads L’amour est aveugle. Les promeneurs, non (Love is blind. Walkers are not). Another simply points out that Il existe des hôtels (There are hotels), while a third offers mock congratulations to readers for being the reason the sign exists. Others politely ask visitors to keep intimacy for intimate places.
Perhaps the cheekiest is a life-size cardboard cut-out of a police officer peering through binoculars, with a comic-strip speech bubble remarking: “It’s very small.”
The idea, the town hall says, is to raise awareness rather than shame anyone. “We couldn’t keep the municipal police there permanently, so we opted for individual responsibility,” Mr Haxaire explained. Even so, he admitted he hoped the signs would make those concerned uncomfortable and touch a nerve.
More patrols, and approval from walkers
The signs are being backed up by a stepped-up police presence. Municipal police now patrol the area five or six times a day between 11:00 and 17:00.
Geoffroy Thuru, head of the town’s municipal police, said many vehicles pull up at the site even in broad daylight, and that some people take to their heels as soon as they spot officers.
Walkers on the trail largely welcomed the initiative, reports France 3. One woman, out with her dog, said she liked the light-hearted approach and described the issue as a serious one locally, notably in parked cars – to the point where it feels as though walkers are the ones intruding.
Another local summed up the general mood: people are free to do as they please, he said, just not where children are around.
What the law says
Behind the jokes lies a serious reminder, printed at the foot of the signs. In France, exhibition sexuelle – imposing a sexual act or display on someone else in a place accessible to the public – is a criminal offence under Article 222-32 of the Code pénal.
It carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to €15,000. The punishment rises to two years and €30,000 if the act is committed in front of a child under 15.
