A French town that has been welcoming tourists for over two centuries has launched a public decency campaign under which anyone found walking around half-naked will be fined up to €150, according to posters and social media releases from the local Mayor.
Les Sables d’Olonne on the Vendée departement’s Atlantic coast became renowned as an elegant bathing resort in around 1825 and, by 1866, trains began bringing visitors in their masses – a trend that only increased when an express rail service linking the ville balnéaire with the French capital arrived.
Now, playfully drawing on that history, Mayor Yannick Moreau has called time on visitors walking around the town with no tops on, behaviour he describes as “indecent” and “increasing summer after summer.” Appealing to visitors to “behave themselves” and put some clothes on, he revealed a new poster which declares: “200 years of Sablaise elegance should not end in Y-fronts on our streets.”
The poster is illustrated with an evolving or perhaps devolving sequence of five people, who start out fully-clothed and sporting berets, dandyish neckerchiefs, and parasols, only to end in two ungainly male figures wearing little more than shorts or underpants. In red below, a warning makes clear that going topless in town is now prohibited and will result in financial penalties of up to €150.
“It’s a matter of respect for townsfolk who do not want people walking around half-naked,” Moreau said on Facebook, adding: “It’s also a question of basic hygiene in our marketplaces, shops, and small streets.” Pointing out that there are 11km of beaches where people can “show off their pecs and swimwear”, Moreau said he had asked police to ensure the new rule about clothing in the town centre is enforced.
🇫🇷🏖️🩳 DÉBAT | « Un peu de tenue, s’il vous plaît ! »
— Cerfia (@CerfiaFR) July 23, 2025
La mairie des Sables-d’Olonne lance une campagne pour demander aux vacanciers de s’habiller correctement en centre-ville, sous peine d’amende.
👉 Faut-il interdire, selon vous, les tenues "trop décontractées" en ville l’été ? pic.twitter.com/hFZMIsnSwF
Comments on the Mayor’s Facebook post are largely in favour of the move and the inhabitants of Les Sables d’Olonne are not alone in losing patience with public nudity. Further south on the Atlantic coast, Arcachon, near the famous nature site the Dune du Pilat, has brought in similar rules and fines, as has the popular Mediterranean seaside resort of La Grande Motte, near Montpellier.
Further afield, destinations in Spain have done the same, from Platja d’Aro near Barcelona, to Seville in the south, where the lewd behaviour of tourists and stag parties has become too much for locals, and Malaga, which has recently launched an “improve your stay” campaign to help tourists stay on the right side of exasperated locals by obeying basic etiquette advice.
