In a drastic step which will be studied closely in Britain, MPs particularly highlighted the irresponsibility of fashion websites which encourage women to keep their weight as low as possible. 

 

Now these 'pro-anorexia²' sites will face a year in prison and a fine equivalent to just over £7,000. 

 

Deputies in the National Assembly in Paris voted through the amendment³ to a law on public health and it is expected to be rubber-stamped by the Senate. 

 

It singled out those who 'provoke people to excessive thinness by encouraging prolonged dietary restrictions⁴ that could expose them to a danger of death, or directly impair⁵ their health.' 

 

Around 40,000 people suffer from anorexia in France, the vast majority women and teenage girls. 

 

Maud Olivier and Catherine Coutelle, the MPs who proposed the law, said in a joint⁶ statement that 'certain sites known as pro-Ana can push people into a vicious circle of anorexia and authorities cannot do anything about it.' 

 

They said the new law was not designed to threaten 'freedom of expression on the Internet', but was a long overdue⁷ health reform.

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