Feminist fury over 'guidebook' to women of Paris

Published on Monday 5 May 2008 21:57

HE MAY work in politics, but Pierre-Louis Colin, a speechwriter for France's foreign minister, has just blown an enormous raspberry at political correctness with the publication of his Guide to the Pretty Women of Paris.

"Just as every region has its gastronomy, every quartier has its feminine speciality," writes Mr Colin, 34, who co-authored the most recent book by Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister.

Starting from the premise that Paris is the most visited capital city in the world and that its women are as big an attraction for visitors as the Mona Lisa and the Eiffel Tower, Mr Colin decided to produce his own guidebook on the subject.

But the result, though more of a literary essay than a factual guide, sparked anger among women's groups.

"You do not find in Menilmontant the sublime legs you see at the Madeleine. But you do find perfectly shameless cleavages," writes Mr Colin.

Rue Montorgueil is hailed as the "epicentre of the city's erotic radiations"

and he even lists a Right Bank caf with the perfect vantage point to get "an unbeatable view" up women's skirts as they mount a spiral staircase.

Mr Colin argues his book is striking a blow against political correctness and states that the freedom to contemplate the beauty of women is a key part of French culture.

But a spokeswoman for the French women's protection group, SOS Femmes, said: "This book is blatant male sexism which reduces women to objects of sexual desire."