Paris female pants law could be lifted

London, May 5 (ANI): The law that banned women from wearing trousers in Paris could finally be lifted more than two centuries after first being enforced.

The rule, which was first introduced in late 1799 by Paris' police chief, stipulated that any Parisienne wishing to "dress like a man" must seek special permission from the city's main police station.

However, a group of ten French MPs has now submitted a draft bill to parliament to remove the law, which has survived repeated attempts to repeal it.

The latest attempt to remove the out-of-date rule was in 2003, when a Right-wing MP from President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party wrote to the minister in charge of gender equality.

"Disuse is sometimes more efficient than (state) intervention in adapting the law to changing morays," the Telegraph quoted the minister as responding then.

Already, the rule has been contradicted by legislation that has made men and women equal in the eyes of the French constitution since 1946.

But the MPs say the trouser ban is "obsolete" and should be "de-legislated".

The development comes in line with Sarkozy's recent announcement that parliament should be given a break in the second half of this year to look back over old French laws that need repealing. (ANI)