London: A law that banned women from wearing trousers in Paris is still in effect, it has emerged.
The rule forbidding women from dressing like men-by wearing trousers- was first introduced in 1800 by the city's police chief and has survived repeated attempts to repeal it.
The 1800 rule stipulated than any Parisienne wishing to dress like a man "must present herself to Paris' main police station to obtain authorisation".
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In 1892 it was slightly relaxed thanks to an amendment, which said trousers were permitted "as long as the woman is holding the reins of a horse".
Later in 1909, the decree was further mellowed when an extra clause was added to allow women in trousers on condition they were "on a bicycle or holding it by the handlebars".
In 1969, amid a global movement towards gender equality, the Paris council asked the city's police chief to bin the decree, reports the Telegraph.
He said: "It is unwise to change texts which foreseen or unforeseen variations in fashion can return to the fore."
The latest attempt to remove the outmoded rule came in 2003, when a Right-wing MP from French President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party wrote to the minister in charge of gender equality.
The minister's response was: "Disuse is sometimes more efficient than (state) intervention in adapting the law to changing morays."
