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French Strippers on Strike

Dancers at Le Crazy Horse in Paris have gone on strike by refusing to take off their clothes until they get a raise.

http://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/46964…

When I was in Paris last year my hotel was right across the street from the Crazy Horse. Unlike most American cities, Paris does not relegate adult entertainment to poor and dangerous neighborhoods, and the Crazy Horse is right on Avenue George V and only a short walk to the Seine on the south and the Champs-Elysees on the north.

The Crazy Horse is not a strip club. It is a theater which presents stage shows with dancers in elaborate costumes that display nakedness, similar to some Las Vagas shows. The cheap seats cost 100 euros ($130 US), and you will not be able to interact with the dancers.

Although the headline calls them "strippers," the performers are really dancers employed by the theater. With a maximum salary of 2000 euros ($2600 US) per month, these girls must have a tough time living in a city as expensive as Paris.

Refusing to remove their clothes is an interesting tactic for employees to use, and it may work. In France it is not easy to fire people, and the dancers have protections that don't exist for American strippers.

Of course, we Americans don't have to worry about strippers refusing to remove their clothes because that would only reduce their income.