While some costumes are clearly socially unacceptable, in extraordinarily unhealthy style or each, France has precise laws on this matter and a few fancy gown could be punishable by hefty fines and even jail sentences.
If you might be planning a fancy dress get together or making an attempt to provide you with your déguisement (fancy gown) then it’s best to know that sure outfits, insignia and equipment are unlawful in France.
Racist costumes
Offensive caricatures usually are not unlawful – though hopefully it goes with out saying that we’re not endorsing them – however there are some conditions the place an overtly racist Halloween costume would possibly get you in hassle with the regulation in France.
In October 2025, a bunch of Paris firefighters attended a fancy dress get together at a skydiving membership within the Aube département. Images on social media circulated of 5 attendees dressed as members of the Ku Klux Klan, whereas others have been in blackface.
The firefighters face disciplinary motion, however the French Skydiving Federation and the charity SOS Racisme have additionally filed a criticism with the general public prosecutor’s workplace.
Perpetrators could possibly be prosecuted for public racial insult (injure raciale publique) and public incitement to hatred, racial violence, or discrimination (provocation publique à la haine, à la violence raciale ou à la discrimination), punishable by as much as one 12 months in jail and a €45,000 high-quality.
Crimes in opposition to humanity
In France, the penal code specifies that folks can not put on or show in public a uniform, insignia, or emblem paying homage to the uniforms, insignia, or emblems which were worn or displayed by an individual or group that has been convicted by a French court docket or worldwide court docket of crimes in opposition to humanity.
The most blatant instance of this may be Nazi costumes.
Technically, persons are additionally allowed to have a personal assortment of Nazi emblems in France, however they can not show or put on them in public.
There are exceptions for individuals dressing up for a movie, TV present or official historic re-enactment, however not for a personal get together or social occasion.
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Those who fall foul of this rule could be fined as much as €1,500, and their gadgets confiscated. In 2011, a British man was fined €1,000 for sporting a Nazi uniform and insignia throughout a celebration in a restaurant in Savoie.
Concealing your face
France handed a regulation in 2010 stipulating that “nobody might, in public areas, put on clothes supposed to hide their face”. Breaking this rule is punishable by a high-quality of €150.
This has broadly been interpreted as a regulation in opposition to the sporting of the Niqab (the full-face masking worn by some Muslim ladies).
READ MORE: EXPLAINED: Does France actually have a hijab ban?
You may also cowl your face in particular conditions. For occasion, motorcyclists sporting a helmet, sporting a masks throughout a well being disaster, masking your face for an inventive, conventional or non secular occasion (inside a spot of worship).
As for fancy gown, there are additionally some exceptions to this regulation – individuals can cowl their faces for festive occasions, similar to Halloween or Mardi Gras.
Meaning – you possibly can gown up as a scary clown or zombie for Halloween, however it’s important to do not forget that the sporting of the costume ought to be ‘festive’ and never supposed to be menacing or disturb the general public order.
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Fake weapons and weapons
Brandishing an actual weapon is already unlawful in France, however you might get in hassle for a faux one, too.
Another portion of the French penal code (Article 132-75) additionally specifies {that a} weapon could be categorised as one thing used to threaten individuals, and faux knives and weapons can fall into this class.
READ MORE: What are the foundations on carrying a knife in France?
Local authorities may also prohibit the shopping for and setting off of fireworks.
Several individuals in 2014 have been arrested in France for sporting clown masks and deliberately terrorising bystanders, and typically, the perpetrators used visibly faux weapons.
While technically you possibly can have a plastic gun or sword as a part of your costume, it’s best to do not forget that threatening individuals with this stuff is punishable by high-quality.
Remember that the French penal code additionally specifies that “threatening to commit violence in opposition to an individual, when this risk is both repeated or materialised by means of writing, a picture or some other object, is punishable by a category three high-quality (€450).
Dressing up as a ‘public official’
And lastly, French regulation prohibits individuals from impersonating public officers.
It is forbidden to put on a fancy dress or uniform that’s ‘regulated by public authorities’, which means you can’t gown up as a police officer, gendarme, member of the navy, firefighter, or choose.
This is taken very significantly and could be punishable by as much as one 12 months imprisonment and a high-quality of €15 000.
