France is such an enlighten state.
From article:
"Police say that the law, which provides for fines of up to £6,000 and six months in jail, will be unenforceable."
[great idea, pass laws which are unenforcable- very French.]

"imprisonment for youths who intimidate by congregating in stairwells; for beggars, squatters, travellers who trespass and women deemed to be “passively soliciting” for prostitution. Weakly defined, this offence can apply to any woman who dresses provocatively, rights activists say."
[I guess laws against women having a expose face will be next- or is it laws on how long the dress should be?]

"a chorus of ridicule from the intellectual world, including some right-wing thinkers, on the grounds that it smacks of American or Third World practices and reflects an attempt to impose a "new moral order" on France."
[Obvious French intellectuals, others in the intellectual world wouldn't be so badly informed.]