Marine Le Pen's far-right party wants to bring back France's once legendary brothels, sparking a fresh debate about prostitution in a country with a long history of liberal attitudes to sex.

Brothels, or "maisons closes", existed in their hundreds in France before they were outlawed in 1946.

Prostitution is legal in France, although a law introduced in 2016 did make it illegal to buy sex, shifting the criminal responsibility to clients who can be fined if caught.

Now the far-right National Rally (RN) plans to submit a bill that would allow brothels to re-open and be run as cooperatives by sex workers themselves in order to ensure their safety.

Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a member of the party, revealed this week that he has been working on the legislation that he claims has the backing of Le

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