Call for smacking to be made illegal

SMACKING a child serves no purpose and should be banned in France, a Paris MP and child welfare expert has recommended.

Edwige Antier, who has 38 years' experience as a pediatrician and has written extensively about child behaviour, has put forward a proposed bill in parliament banning the practice.

In an interview with Aujourd'hui en France, the UMP member of parliament said research had shown that the more a child is smacked, the more it becomes aggressive.

Smacking also teaches children from an early age that violence can be used to resolve a problem, and that the strong have a right to hit the weak, she said.

According to Ms Antier, 18 European countries have already banned smacking - Sweden outlawed it 30 years ago - and the Council of Europe has encouraged other states to follow.

She wants the law to be added into the Code Civil - meaning fines for those who ignore it rather than a prison sentence. The law should be made clear to couples when they marry.

UMP general secretary Xavier Bertrand told BFM radio that he was against the proposed law and that it was a matter for parents to decide.