French 'want porn banned from TV'

Some 950 porn films are shown monthly on TV

Two-thirds of French people want pornography banned from television, according to a poll conducted by the country's audiovisual watchdog, the CSA.

Support for ban

Total: 64%

Women: 76%

Men: 51%

18-24 age group: 68%

Left-wing: 80%

Right-wing: 76%

Source: Le Parisien

Out of the 1,000 people interviewed, 64% said they would approve a ban.

The percentage was higher among women, but pollsters found no major differences across political lines.

The survey, published in the daily Le Parisien, comes as politicians move to review the laws governing X-rated material on both cable and non-cable channels.

Many French legislators blame hardcore porn for a recent spate of sex attacks by schoolchildren on other schoolchildren.

'Cultural disaster'

"It would be simple to apply existing laws [to enforce a ban] and that would let us avoid having youths find images on their screens that are upsetting and poisonous at an age when they are developing their sexual identities," the French Minister for Family Affairs, Christian Jacob, told Le Parisien.

The quality of the films will decrease, there will be more and more cheap and dirty videos

John B Root,
pornographer

According to Mr Jacob, 950 violent or pornographic films are screened every month on television in France.

And, the CSA says, several cable channels plan to show more in the future.

In July, the CSA recommended banning porn even from encrypted cable stations. It argued that many under-18s had access to X-rated films despite encryption.

Critics, however, say that banning porn from TV will make the situation worse.

"The quality of the films will decrease, there will be more and more cheap and dirty videos," hardcore pornographer John B Root has said.

"It's absolutely stupid because there will be as many consumers for porn movies as there are now, but the porn films will be cheaper - it will be a disaster for everybody and a cultural disaster."