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A PREGNANT PASSENGER on the Paris metro has been hit with a 60-euro fine for walking the wrong way, sparking outrage on social media.
The woman, who wanted to save some time on her journey, was given the ticket last Tuesday by inspectors at Concorde station near the Louvre art gallery.
“Bravo for this racket,” her partner wrote sarcastically on Twitter, alongside a picture of her printed penalty notice.
“A 60-euro fine without notice for a pregnant woman who goes the wrong way.”
The Paris metro operator RATP stood by the penalty, a spokesman telling AFP on Saturday the one-way systems are clearly marked and are aimed at avoiding “incidents” and controlling the flow of people.
However, he added the tickets for such offences were “infrequent” and it is up to the RATP inspectors to apply them or not.
Michel Babut from the leading passenger group FNAUT branded the fine “completely stupid”, adding the rules need changing.
“It’s a total aberration,” he told AFP.
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Why does her being pregnant matter
@happy: Just hope they fined her twice it would only be fair
“Fine Both!”
@happy: well I’m not a woman but if I was carrying another person in my stomach is probably expect to be allowed to take shortcuts when I’m walking. Think it matters because if common sense prevailed he could have let it slide. Have to day I’m surprised I had to explain that to you
@domas1507: common sense would be for the woman to maybe…follow the rules!!
i’m female, and very happy that this woman got a fine. pregnancy isn’t a disability, so allowances shouldn’t be made in most cases.
@domas1507:
“in my stomach?”
@happy: depending on how heavy her pregnancy is I can relate. In the last trimester of my ones I could hardly walk due to how the baby was lying and their subsequent weights.
@happy: No point explaining if you don’t understand already
@happy: baby brain.
@Mirabelle Stonegate:
p
Pregnancy might not be a disability but being pregnant is hard on a body. Would you not give a seat to a pregnant woman on a bus because pregnancy is ‘not a disability’? Or expect a pregnant woman to carry heavy objects because it’s ‘not a disability?
@Anne Parsons Dunne: unless they were clearly in distress or struggling, nope, i wouldn’t. they don’t get my seat just because they’re pregnant.
i’m fully aware of how hard pregnancy gets for the body, which is why i work hard to prevent it, and have no intention of inflicting it on myself, despite others trying to force it on me.
pregnancy alone will not earn someone my sympathy.
@domas1507: So should overweight people be allowed to break the rule too. Oh Lord it’ll be complete anarchy.
@Mirabelle Stonegate: I’m glad I never met you when I was pregnant
@Mirabelle Stonegate: I’d doubt many do at all
@Mirabelle Stonegate: neither is being old but I would still allow them certain privileges I wouldn’t to others
@Anne Parsons Dunne: but isn’t it all about choice nowadays – respect people’s choice but obey the rules- if it is against the rules to walk a certain corridor then don’t do it regardless of the choices made that leave you in the position your in
@happy: Headlines. Looking to milk the “poor female” rhetoric.
@lorcmul: I just believe people make mistakes and deserve understanding. Her being pregnant may have been the reason she went the wrong way or not. But why not show some compassion.
@Mirabelle Stonegate: “despite others trying to force it on me”????
You do know that rape is a crime and it’s perpetrators can be reported to the police?
Being pregnant doesn’t exempt you from obeying rules and regulations. Just saying not to use a pregnancy as an excuse.
@The Girl: no it doesn’t, but being a jumped up little rent-a-cop doesn’t excuse you from showing a bit of compassion for a pregnant lady.
@name cannot be blank: He’s just doing his job. He doesn’t make the rules, he just enforces them
@name cannot be blank: You can’t call her a lady anymore. They want to be called women .
@Pat Bateman: He should get a less silly job.
@Neal Ireland Hello.: somebody has to do it
@Pat Bateman: the article seems to imply that it’s at his own discretion
@Pat Bateman: Why? What calamity will happen if no one hands out fines for walking the wrong way?
@The Girl: has compassion for others become out of date?
Shock!! Being pregnant doesn’t allow you to break rules.
@Jack Jackson: what’s abortion
@Jack Jackson: Did you read the article ?She was trying to save some time on her journey. Being pregnant makes you extremely tired and uncomfortable and yes even makes you want to shorting your travelling time as a result.
@Catherine Sims: Rules are rules. When I have the flu I get tired, but guess what…..I have to suck it up and live within the rules of society.
@Paul Coughlan: Google it and you’ll educate yourself depending on the duristriction.
@Jack Jackson: flu does compare I’m afraid but as you will never be pregnant you will never understand.
@Catherine Sims: special “pregnant’ rules required then:
Pregnant crossings, pregnant speed limits, pregnant parking spots etc..
@Catherine Sims: she was pregnant, not disabled…
she put herself into that position, given that she is continuing the pregnancy. unless it’s under doctor’s orders, she doesn’t have a right to break the rules.
@Catherine Sims: It’s not a disease to be pregnanent so stop trying to play that card. In fact more people die from flu every year than being pregnant. Tell youself the truth…..people like you just want special treatment and a free pass where possible. If that woman really felt that bad then why not call for assistance instead of using her self appointed entitlement card.
@Jack Jackson: Rules are rules? Aren’t you a good little soldier.
@Cindy Crawford: No, I’m a law abiding citizen, but on the other hand I notice from your cliched comment that you just like to bend the rules for yourself…..;)
@Jack Jackson: I like to use my brain & decide when rules should be kept & when they’re too stupid to obey.
@Carnac: pregnant parking spots are a great idea and works really well in Portugal. Saved my partner a lot of unnecessary walking when she was heavily pregnant last year
@Catherine Sims: Yes. Pregnancy can be exhausting. A little bit of compassion would be nice
@Jack Jackson: if you were ever pregnant you’d know that while it’s not a disease, it can cause you to be so exhausted and uncomfortable it’s hard to even stand up
Surely walking into an in coming crowd increases the risks of getting walked into and falling ?
They’ve laws and regulations. Why should being pregnant make a difference???????
@Johnnie Sexton: government is there to govern for the people. Not to govern the people.
@Paul Coughlan: That’s why they’ve governed to ensure a safe flow of people, for the people
@Pat Bateman: but isn’t this a private company and their customers rather than a government and its citizens?
@Dave O Keeffe: Exactly, its supposed to be a public service, not a courtroom with penalties for not following the rules. I am shocked at the nastiness of the comments on here. These little ss ‘men’ need to put on a green uniform with a steel helmet, so they can go around bullying and beating women for being pregnant.
I ran up three flights of down escalators in UCD library for a dare before. The security guard caught me. I said I hadn’t seen the signs but he was having none of it and threw me out to much merriment from my mates. The big meanie!
@Sean: was it librocop? Librocop takes no prisoners
People roam about equality and when its applied still moan…
Sacre bleu!
Ah, the good old EU. Don’t you just love it!
@John Hagin Meade: I’ll bite. What does the EU have to do with this story?
@John Hagin Meade:
What on earth has this got to do with the EU?
That’s an absolutely moronic comment.
Amazing how many EU bashers display all the intelligence of a dead jellyfish.
@John Hagin Meade: it’s French law you muppet, not EU law.
@John Hagin Meade: no wonder the Brexit happened. Believe the brexiteers without any evidence.
@John Hagin Meade: ___ People should also be fined for talking sh!té on the internet.
@Johnnie Sexton: It may be French law but just like other national laws and rules the EU give themselves the power to over-rule it if they were bothered. Ireland gets things over-ruled at times.
@John Hagin Meade: __ Is the law governing the walking direction on the Paris Metro an EU law or not?
@Ala Alowska: I don’t think he’s a troll. I think that’s the way those people are trained to think
@John Hagin Meade: such as?
@Johnnie Sexton: “such as?”
Irish fishermen only allowed to fish about 4% of Irish territorial waters. Tied up in port watching the French and Spanish trawlers over-fishing. It’s EU law. Ah yes, we never had it so good!
@John Hagin Meade: ehhh well that’s complete scutter …
@John Hagin Meade:
We gave up a subsistence fishing trade for billions in infrastructure funding and you’re surprised it came with some conditions?
@Frank Kennedy: Yes, I’m surprised the fishermen were used as fodder for the farmers. Did they agree to have their chosen profession and livelihood destroyed? So much for every citizen being treated equally. It is suggested that the EU fishing super-trawlers have taken about the same value of our fish as was given in structural funds to date. Time to return a level playing field but that will never happen. By the way I have no connection whatsoever with the Irish fishermen, just a strong belief in fairness-over-profit. Maybe I just have too many strong feelings for my fellow Irishmen, unlike so many of the comments here.
ahhh she shouldve stayed in the kitche ;-)
Which way should a pregnant woman walk?
@Frankly Mydear: __ It would be more of a waddle than a walk.
Pedestrian one way system. Haha
You do have to wonder whether a society which feels the need to fine pedestrians for walking the wrong way is one which deserves to survive.
@Ben McArthur:
Anyone can understand why people walking in one direction from a train not having oncoming pedestrians going to the next train is quicker for both parties. Add people with bags, young children, disabilities, or whatever and they have even less difficulty not making constant course adjustments for oncoming pedestrian traffic in their path. So that understood, one might ask how one effects that in a society? Yeah, you organize people into lanes heading common directions. Still with me? And what do you do for people who want to catch a train but don’t care about other passengers, we discourage them from their behavior. And how do we discourage people’s behavior in society, yes, you can do it, with fines. Bravo, you’ve now reached the comprehension level of an 8 year old. Next week, tune in for “its hot, don’t touch”…
@Ben McArthur: Exactly. Do they deserve to survive? It’s beginning to look like they shouldn’t. The intolerance for breaking the tiniest of rules is perplexing to any humane person. Especially the intolerance among the commenters on this page.
Oh fgs I thought it was Germans who expected people to behave like robots. A bit of common sense and empathy should have seen this let slide. Poor woman was probably barely able to get around
@Patricia Ellis Dunne: so, as long as you’re pregnant, rules don’t apply, is that what you’re saying?
rules exist for a reason. we might not always agree with that reason, but tough. by being in the metro system, the implication was that the woman agreed to abide by the rules for that area. when she didn’t she received the relevant punishment. that’s what happens when you break rules.. you get punished!
@Mirabelle Stonegate: well, not the kind of society I’d choose, which is why I live in a small town. People aren’t too bothered if someone stops the car in front of them and they have to wait while a chat is had. Same in queues in shops. Certainly wouldn’t complain if somebody “walked the wrong way.. Long may it last. Maybe you’re not that familiar with the laid back Irish ways?
@Patricia Ellis Dunne:
and maybe you’re not familiar with large city life. Things change in big cities – you can imagine that with 10 million people moving about Paris that it takes a bit of organization and structure that isn’t so important as it would be a smaller town.
And they’re not laid-back Irish “ways”, its inbreeding. Darwin noted this centuries ago – in small social groups the gene pool gets drained, competition for breeding is removed, and the remaining population start moving slower…
@Patricia Ellis Dunne: As you can see, basic human empathy and courtesy is sadly lacking with many of the commenters here. One of them quite predictably uses Darwin’s theory, to justify the apelike characteristics and behaviour of the ‘ruler’, (in this case the Paris metro attendant). This is what happens when we allow Cornelius and his uniformed cohorts of Unionised due paying apes to take over the world. It quickly becomes the ‘Planet of the Apes’.
@Patricia McCarthy:
Nice reply – I’m impressed. But you may be ignoring empathy and courtesy for the commuters, with the young children by their side, or with their disabilities, making their way in the correct direction on clearly labelled lanes in an organized train station having to accommodate a women going the wrong direction. Their situation must surrender to someone we know nothing about other that her partner claimed she was pregnant?
@Frank Kennedy: oh ffs! Inbreeding! I’m from the city. One of the reasons I love it here is the kinder, gentler ways. Streets ahead if you ask me
@Patricia Ellis Dunne: i’m from a tiny village myself, and those kinds of things have always annoyed me. they’re extremely inconsiderate of the people around them!
whilst i am very laid back about a lot of things, manners, and consideration of others, along with abiding by rules.. are not things one should be laid back about! the pregnant woman was inconsiderate and disobeying the rules, and i’m glad to hear she got fined.
and i’ve been laid back about rules in the past. and been hit with the fines. i apologised, paid up, and moved on.. granted, i was being a stupid kid at the time, not that it was any excuse.. but i still didn’t get all het up and entitled about getting caught.
@Patricia McCarthy: shame the pregnant woman couldn’t have the courtesy to obey the rules!
i’ve been to the likes of london, and paris, and madrid. as a kid in london, i learned after getting yelled at and knocked over for standing on the wrong side of the escalator that you do NOT disobey the conventions for these places. if you are expected to walk or stand a particular way, you do that! doesn’t matter how uncomfortable, or tired you are, you obey the rules of society.
that lesson served me well when i ended up in madrid, alone for 2 weeks. i stood back for a couple of minutes, observed the rules for using the metro, and followed them. not doing so could have resulted in injury, given that i was travelling at rush hour with a hell of a lot of other people.
@Patricia Ellis Dunne:
I was just messing with you – no argument on it being streets ahead (was the pun intended?). Hard to see current city life hassles and 40 years in an office as being the highlights of human development…
@Mirabelle Stonegate: you see I think telling at people because they don’t follow ” the riukes” is the antithesis of manners. I find it bizarre that many on the escalator would push you out of the way in case they might miss their train when there’s another in 3 minutes. I would and have stopped and held people up to help someone in difficulty with a buggy, elderly rtf. I got shouted at but couldn’t care less!
@Patricia Ellis Dunne: /*yelling, rules, etc
That’s merde.
Let’s not call everyone who is pregnant incapable and lets make allowance for those who are. And if a station guard sees someone walking fine, at normal speed, in the wrong direction causing other people disruption, then fine them, and if you see someone struggling for whatever reason, you try help them. Why is this so difficult…
I stoped reading at “Outrage on social media”
Why is this news ?
A couple of years from now pregnant women in Ireland may be treated like this. Think twice before getting pregnant is the moral of the story; nothing to do with the fine for breaking the rules. The nasty little man who issued the fine was just obeying orders. That was the Nazi defence at Nuremberg, when they were asked to explain their inhumanity. The lack of empathy, compassion, or even a bit of manliness, coming from the commenters on here is something to see. It looks like they all want to stand in the Paris metro issuing fines to pregnant women and screaming about equality. Brutal idiots is the only way to describe them.
@Patricia McCarthy: a couple of months more like – we are about to vote about pregnancy being a choice and if it becomes a choice the the need for special treatment or manliness as you call it will be redundant and replaced by woman’s choice and floodgates will open re entitlements etc
@Patricia McCarthy:
Why assume the ticket issuer was a man? The RATP CEO supporting this is Catherine Guillouard. Yeah, the evil person in the story was a women. Deflating, n’est pas!
(and when your find yourself drawing parallels between a 60 euro fine and Holocaust atrocities, trust me, its obvious to everyone other than you that you need counselling)
@Frank Kennedy: Counseling? How would that benefit you and the other deskbound apes? No. A hefty fine is a better solution. That enriches the ape colony and penalises humans. Which is the objective, of your stance on all subjects.
When our public transport system works as well as theirs we can offer them opinions on how to do it.
I laugh at all the comments speaking about rules!! In Ireland yeah, everyone is equal – it doesn’t matter if you’re pregnant or disabled or 80 years old – 80 percent of the people will still cross the road on the red signal without even looking at the cars! And those who aren’t are tourists. So why don’t you stop judging the woman, and think about how yesterday you didn’t wait for the light to turn green?
@Marina Golodnikova: in Ireland we have a colony of apes who have paid their Union dues. They are employed everywhere enforcing the rules. The rules must be obeyed, by pregnant women, the elderly, the sick and the weak. Breaking the rules will result in heavy financial penalties. That system enriches the ape colony, aiding in the transfer of wealth from human to ape.
Nuts-tella !
The fine she got for walking the wrong way, 60 quid, is actually higher than the one you get for traveling without a valid ticket (50 quid). Yeah, makes perfect sense.
I don’t know for sure, but I guess that the rule is there to aid safety during very busy times.
If it was quiet and walking the wrong way did not constitute a danger, then a pass, with an explanation as to the reason for such a rule would have been my response.
If it where during a busy time, then I would also have explained that it was for her own safety and walked with her the correct way, helping in any way that I could.
“Now the reason we’re here
As man and woman
Is to love each other
Take care of each other”
Pretenders.
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