Latest news with #SarahElHaïry
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Livid parents call for adults-only holidays ban as 'no kids is discrimination'
A group of politicians in France are pushing for a ban on adults-only holidays in the country, arguing that the exclusion of children from such spaces is discrimination Parents and campaigners are calling for an end to adults -only holidays, branding the exclusion of children "violence". For many, the idea of a break away from the hubbub of a child-packed home where they can relax around the pool, a cocktail in hand and a book in the other, without the sound of infant wails shattering the silence, seems like a good time. For members of the growing pro-children-on-holiday movement in France, banning anyone of any age from accessing a certain hotel or resort is completely wrong. Laurence Rossignol, a socialist senator, is to table a private member's bill in the French senate that would make it illegal to ban children from such establishments, the Times reported. Sarah El Haïry, the French high commissioner for childhood, has said that government lawyers are looking into whether it would be possible to take legal action against places that exclude families. READ MORE: Ryanair introduces new route to 'beautiful' European city that's perfect for Christmas 'A child shouts, laughs and moves … we are institutionalising the idea that silence is a luxury and the absence of children is a luxury," she told the French international radio station RFI. Ms El Haïry criticised the 'no kids trend', claiming it amounted to 'violence against children'. Senator Rossignol added: "Children are not a nuisance. We cannot accept that some people decide they no longer want to tolerate a particular section of the population, in this case children. We cannot allow our society to be organised around our intolerance of others, where people organise themselves to keep their distance from anyone who does not fit into their idea of their neighbours." Travel Companies Union roughly estimates that three per cent of holiday venues in France are adult-only facilities. The topic of how children fit into society is a live one in France. The French Federation of Nurseries has made repeated calls to lawmakers to ensure children's right "to make noise". This has been coupled with rising concerns about how much screen time children have, while the High Council for Family, Children and Age has warned that a lack of space for kids to play outdoors could have "harmful consequences for their physical and mental health". Not everyone is happy with the idea of an adults-only holiday ban. Sara Lewis told the Guardian that she thinks a ban would be a 'totally unreasonable deprivation of people's liberty'. 'It amounts to forcing people to accept others' kids, of which there's more than enough of already,' the retired copyeditor from Brussels said. Emilie, a stay-at-home mother, agreed with the politicians that such holidays treated children as "pariahs", but questioned whether the ban would get to the root cause. In her opinion, it is wrong to create spaces where adults can live parallel lives free from children. 'I think it's more about the French relationship with children. There is a popular saying in France about children: Les enfants doivent être vus, et non entendus, which means children should be seen, not heard," Emilie said.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Don't blame children who misbehave, it's the parents' fault
Hell, said Jean-Paul Sartre, is other people. But recently it seems his compatriots have concluded that hell is other people's children, as an increasing number of French restaurants, hotels and campsites declare themselves child-free zones. Sarah El Haïry, the French high commissioner for childhood, has declared war on what she described as 'violence inflicted on children': government lawyers are exploring the possibility of taking legal action against establishments that ban children. It is quite the societal volte-face since 2012, when Pamela Druckerman, an American living in Paris, published French Children Don't Throw Food, a bestselling account of Gallic parenting style. French children, she reported, were taught from their earliest years to comport themselves in a civilised fashion. They did not expect to monopolise adult attention, and understood the meaning of the word 'no'. The contrast with their Anglo-Saxon contemporaries, Druckerman concluded, was startling. If what El Haïry describes as 'la tendance 'no-kids'' is spreading, the responsibility lies with parents. Of course children should be a welcome part of wider society. But if it is cruel to exclude them, it is equally cruel for grown-ups to relinquish parental responsibility. The current vogue for 'gentle' parenting, which tends to venerate the child's feelings to the exclusion of all else, has had consequences that are anything but child-friendly. It takes a village to raise a child: but if the child is allowed to become a tyrant, the village will move elsewhere. This, as El Haïry has noticed, is a bad thing all round. But she may find that good manners and consideration are a matter for persuasion, rather than legislation. 'Posh' accents don't ruin period dramas – poor writing does Jane Austen is the gift that keeps on giving. The stage, film and television adaptations of her novels are legion, as are the innumerable spin-offs and homages. For the 250th anniversary year of Austen's birth, the BBC has commissioned a couple of Austen-related dramas and a drama-documentary. Miss Austen, screened in February, was based on Gill Hornby's 2020 novel about Austen's sister, Cassandra. The Other Bennet Girl is a ten-part adaptation of Janice Hadlow's 2009 novel, inspired by the middle Bennet sister, Mary, and scheduled to air later this year. Plain, anxious and socially awkward, Mary seems destined to fulfil her mother's dire prophecies and end up an impecunious spinster. Yet Hadlow's novel searches beneath the introverted, unhappy surface to find in Mary's character a complicated personality that is a perfect match for the TikTok generation, who already adore Jane Austen. Producer Jane Tranter explained the ways in which the drama is intended to 'offer a proper, welcoming hand to a modern audience'. There will be no 'fetishisation' of period costume and hairstyles. 'Strange curls or weird-y hats' risk distracting viewers, Tranter argued. And once you put an actor in a period costume, they 'start speaking posh, and not everybody spoke posh in those days'. Indeed not: the internet offers a fascinating selection of linguistic fossils, including early recordings of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who retains a touch of Lincolnshire accent; and the philosopher Bertrand Russell, thought to be the last repository of the Whiggish 'Devonshire House drawl'. So Tranter is right: not everybody spoke 'posh'in the days before public broadcasting made received pronunciation the accepted standard accent. But the idea that authentic settings produce stilted performances is demonstrably untrue. In a recent edition of Radio 4's The Reunion devoted to Andrew Davies' 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the designer Dinah Collin described the painstaking historical accuracy with which the costumes were made. Yet a livelier, more universally beloved version of Austen's novel it is hard to imagine. It is understandable that the BBC is keen to court a younger audience, and quite reasonable for writers and directors to bring an unorthodox approach to historical drama. But to conflate the two risks patronising the very audience they hope to charm. The critical faculties of the TikTok generation are just as sharp as those of the generation who cherish the memory of Colin Firth in his sopping shirt. If The Other Bennet Girl is well written, acted and directed, they'll watch it. And if it isn't, they won't – whatever the accents of the cast, or their lack of weird-y hats.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
French venues are in hot water for banning kids. Is adult-only a luxury or a necessity?
Hospitality venues in France such as hotels, restaurants and campsites that do not admit children could face prosecution under proposals for a crackdown that emerged this week. Laurence Rossignol, a socialist senator, plans to introduce a private member's bill to make it illegal to ban children from such establishments, the Times reported, while the French high commissioner for childhood, Sarah El Haïry, said government lawyers were looking into whether it would be possible to take legal action against places that exclude families. She told the French international radio station RFI that the move would address the 'no kids trend', which amounted to 'violence against children', adding: 'A child shouts, laughs and moves … we are institutionalising the idea that silence is a luxury and the absence of children is a luxury.' Here, four people from across Europe share their thoughts on the idea. Emilie, who is a stay-at-home mother, thinks it's 'healthy' that French politicians want to stop the trend that 'turns children into pariahs' but does not think a ban would deal with the root cause. 'I think it's more about the French relationship with children,' says the 39-year-old, who is French but lives in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. 'There is a popular saying in France about children: Les enfants doivent être vus, et non entendus, which means children should be seen, not heard.' From her experience, family life is important in France and children are taught manners when they are young and become used to eating in restaurants from an early age. There is, therefore, an expectation that children are well-behaved in public. Emilie is in two minds about a ban. One one hand she feels that people who do not want to be around children 'are not suddenly going to show patience because they are forced to cohabit with them'. However, she also believes children are part of everyday life and that 'adults can't build a parallel society that is free of children'. 'It's difficult but it's one of the reasons I want to stay in the UK. I think my son would be much happier growing up here than in France.' After each one of Jo's six IVF attempts were unsuccessful, she and her husband took a break to an adult-only hotel for a few days. 'We didn't want to constantly be faced with children and the reminder of what we wanted but couldn't achieve,' says the 40-year-old project manager from Lancashire. For Jo, the French proposals do not consider those who are childless not by choice. 'It's been five years since our final attempt at IVF, but my husband and I still get a bit upset sometimes thinking about how we couldn't have the children we thought we would have. 'It's not that we don't like them – we have five nephews – but when we're on holiday it's nice to know that we've got a somewhat safe space. It's about protecting yourself a bit.' Since being diagnosed with ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, Jo is also more sensitive to noise than she used to be. 'Being out somewhere with loud children is not enjoyable for me at all – something I know other people with health issues or neurodivergence also struggle with.' Franz Peter Weeren, a retired hotelier and chef, thinks a ban would be 'absolutely ludicrous'. As someone who has worked in the hospitality industry since the 1980s, he says most of the problems he has faced with children were caused by parents who were unwilling or, more frequently, incapable of controlling their offspring when they misbehaved. 'One time a 12-year-old tripped over a waitress who was serving a tray full of cocktails and the parents just said: 'Oh well, they're children.' They kicked up a fuss when I upped their bill for damages,' recalls the 68-year-old from Paderborn, Germany. At the time, when Weeren was running an inn in Austria, he considered not allowing children under-14 in but realised he couldn't if his business was to be successful. Attracting more than 100 million visitors in 2024, France is the world's top tourist destination. However, Weeren thinks a proposed ban on adult-focused venues might cause a dip in its popularity. 'Some businesses will adapt but others will close rather than make any changes, and others just won't go to France because they want to enjoy a child-free environment.' Sara Lewis thinks a ban would be a 'totally unreasonable deprivation of people's liberty' and that the plan is too extreme. 'It amounts to forcing people to accept others' kids, of which there's more than enough of already,' says the retired copyeditor from Brussels. She believes it's time to end the stigmatisation of people who prefer to avoid children, and instead of adult-only venues she thinks 'specific child-tolerated places' might be better. For Lewis, the problem is not from children themselves but parents letting them do what they like and expecting others to put up with their behaviour. She feels parents should 'teach their children to be unobtrusive in public'. 'If I go to a restaurant, cafe or hotel I would expect other people, adults or children, to respect me as I would respect them,' Lewis says. 'Children by nature want to be lively and run around but that's not always appropriate, depending on the environment. In the same way that I wouldn't play opera music very loudly in public, as much as I like it.'
The Independent
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Independent
French adult-only holidays at risk as campaign launches to end child ‘intolerance'
Adult-only hotels and facilities could be under threat in France after a new campaign against the 'no kids trend' accuses them of dividing society and excluding children. The push to end adults-only travel and tourism comes amid a dispute over whether intolerance is growing against children in France. This has been seen in groups such as the French Federation of Nurseries, which has campaigned for children's right "to make noise". France's high commissioner for childhood, Sarah El Haïry, held a roundtable on Tuesday (May 27) with key players from the tourism and travel industry to discuss adult-only policies, as some politicians call for child-free spaces to be banned. "There is a growing intolerance, and we must not allow it to take hold," Ms El Haïry told broadcaster RTL. "Children and families are being pushed out and, in a way, this is real violence being experienced.' "It's not in our culture, it's not our philosophy, and it's not what we want to see as the norm in our country." 'A child shouts, laughs and moves … we are institutionalising the idea that silence is a luxury and the absence of children is a luxury,' she added to radio station RFI, according to The Times. The move against adult-only hotels, restaurants and other facilities is not aimed at couples who choose to remain childless, but at adults who do not want to be disturbed by children, she said. Ms El Haïry also said children are being put 'in front of a cartoon' on public transport due to people complaining about noisy children, putting pressure on parents to keep them quiet. The commissioner added that lawyers are mulling over whether it would be feasible to take legal action against establishments that do not allow children. However, some lawyers say that there is no need for a new bill because they argue adult-only spaces could already be breaching laws that prohibit discrimination against 'origin, gender, family situation or age,' The Times reports. While the Travel Companies Union roughly estimates that only three per cent of commercial offers are adult-only facilities, this is not the first time French officials have tried to end no-children zones. Socialist senator Laurence Rossignol introduced a bill a year ago that would make it illegal to ban children from venues in France. Ms Rossignol said at the time that the bill is aimed at promoting "a society that is open to children". The senator's bill proposed that "the exclusion of minors from living spaces, public spaces, commercial spaces, transport and any other exclusion that is not justified by safety requirements specific to children or by the lack of civil capacity also constitutes discrimination'. Ms Rossignol also responded to Ms El Haïry 's anti-adult-only campaign on X, stating: 'A year ago, when Ms El Haïry was Minister for Children, and to the utmost indifference of the government, I tabled a bill against no-kids places. 'I welcome her awareness. And if she wants to act, she should have this bill examined by Parliament.' While the socialist senator "is pleased that the government is taking up the issue', she doubts "the ability of commerce to self-regulate without a law that imposes a minimum requirement," and is therefore calling on the government to put its bill on the agenda of the Senate or the National Assembly. "We cannot allow our society to be organised around our intolerance of others, where people organise themselves to keep their distance from anyone who does not fit into their idea of their neighbours," she added in a statement on Wednesday.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Daily Mail
Adults-only hotels risk being BANNED in popular European country - as they are a 'threat to society'
Adults-only hotels, campsites and restaurants could be banned in France as part of a planned government crackdown. Sarah El Haïry, France's high commissioner for childhood, has said that the country's 'no kids trend' has caused 'violence against children', reports The Times. The commissioner said that people who complain about children being noisy are spreading the 'idea that children are a nuisance'. She claimed that adults-only venues were dividing society and putting pressure on parents. El Haïry told RTL: 'There is a growing intolerance and we must not allow it to take hold. 'It's not in our culture, it's not in our philosophy, and it's not what we want to see as the norm in our country.' She explained that government lawyers are currently looking at taking legal action against hotels that refuse to allow children. France 24 reports that adults-only venues currently represent around three per cent of the country's travel market. A socialist senator, Laurence Rossignol, is now planning to introduce a bill to make it illegal to ban children from venues. El Haïry is reportedly planning to bring together those in the travel industry to encourage them to take a 'pro-kids' approach. Adults-only venues - and flights - can be a divisive issue among travellers. A mother recently went viral after she slammed Japan Airlines for its controversial booking feature where people can see where babies are seated before picking their own seat. Sophie Kalimeridou, a 'mumfluencer' who specialises in family-friendly travel content, took to Instagram earlier this month to vent her frustration with the airline's policy after flying with her toddler daughter and young son. Sharing a video from her business class seat, she accused Japan Airlines of alienating parents and children in favour of passengers who prefer a quieter journey.
