E.T. illegal in France?

[snopes]

Comment: Hi -- I recently read that it was illegal to sell E.T. dolls in
France because there was a law against selling dolls without human faces.
Do you know if this is true?

[I'mNotDedalus]

Illegal to sell dolls without human faces?

Here's the first hit I got on French ebay: Poupée E.T. Extra Terrestre Ancien Rare.

So I'm guessing the answer to this one is, "Non."

[Eddylizard]

Though I'm going with your assessment that the OP c'est complete nonsense, just because somethings on sale on e-bay does not mean it's legal.

mais encore trés beau

Err - "Non! Vous êtes très laid!" I think I'll spend my €30 on something else.

Then again if it's illegal to open a shop, bar or restaurant on a Sunday in France - then who knows? Thank God for Belgium or we'd have starved to death.

[I'mNotDedalus]

Originally Posted by Eddylizard

Though I'm going with your assessment that the OP c'est complete nonsense, just because somethings on sale on e-bay does not mean it's legal.

Ah, that's a good point. I searched ebay, first, because I assumed that E.T. was a bit dated and, thus, wouldn't be manufactured as a doll much, presently.

In any case, the first hit on French Google for "monstre poupée" is this: Poupée Uglydolls.

[BamaRainbow]

I'm going to have to say this: I don't believe this "law" actually exists. I did a web search and, while the "dolls have to have human faces" law pops up a lot, the sites with the law are largely parroting each other. I couldn't find an actual reference to any such law in the French legal code (even after going through eight pages searching for "disney dolls in france").

I finally found a site which might prove this so-called law may not be true, unless Disney has carved out a major exemption.
http://www.qype.co.uk/place/30534-Di.../photos/172824

As the url notes, it's a picture of the Disney Store in Paris and if you look closely enough, you'll note the products in the display are Winnie the Pooh characters, primarily Tigger (or "Tigrou" as he's apparently known in la belle France). Also, one of the reviews about the store notes that it also has "nemos,..., mickey mice, bagiras" which I would largely take to mean stuffed animals or "dolls".