‘Death is forbidden’: France’s absurd excess of laws inspires lawyer to national competition

This “regulatory inflation” in France does not always mean seriously. For example, the UFO ban at Châteauneuf-du-Pape was an advertising move to give the local wine international attention. It happened… Meanwhile, a UFO was never spotted.

The fact that the mayor of Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine wanted to prevent women from having children was a pure protest move. The local maternity hospital in a nearby town had to close and the mayor wanted to “compensate” for it. “In this sense, we have issued a decree that certainly appears to be a provocation, but above all a strong and symbolic act corresponding to a unilateral decision with disastrous consequences,” she said at the time.

The fact that Pokemon are no longer welcome in Bresolles stemmed from concerns about young people roaming city streets glued to their phones. The distribution of Viagra in Montero was in turn a response from the mayor to a school threatened with closure due to a shortage of students.

Finally, the ban on mosquitoes in Priuli was a result of the flooding of the Sarth River in July 2018, which resulted in a large mosquito population in the city. Residents complained so loudly to the city council about the “invasion” that the mayor issued the ban. “It’s a joke to make people understand that I can’t do anything,” he told AFP.