Paris city hall on Thursday called an ad for a dating website linking students with rich men and women “shameful,” and said officials will work with police to remove it from the city.
The RichmeetBeautiful website has been displaying a large mobile billboard across Paris, encouraging students to get in touch with “sugar daddies” and “sugar mamas” to subsidise their studies. It reads: “Romance, passion and no student loan, go out with a sugar daddy or sugar mama.”
Paris police said later on Thursday that they had opened an investigation and that the vehicle carrying the billboard had been stopped.
France’s gender equality minister Marlene Schiappa said she will look into whether the dating website for people above 18 is encouraging prostitution.
The website describes itself as a place where people can be “open and honest” in defining the conditions of their relationship.