Donna is your french OH anything to do with the water and swimming pool industry?
"I don't want to get into it to deeply"....
As the actress said to the bishop...
Great striker Geoff Astle and it's such a pity his 'case' still hasn't been resolved.
There is nothing wrong with wearing Speedos or “budgie smugglers” I am 32 inch waist, a fit cyclist and look lovely in these trunks, I have white, blue and black pairs. Especially when I am brown the white ones look fabulous. I am very proud of my body and yes it does look ridiculous to have fat old men wearing them, perhaps they’d lose weight and not cost the NHS or the French equivalent so much money in diabetes treatments etc. Seriously though, it is true that it made people change out of dirty, manky, sweaty shorts that could have been anywhere. So infact it’s a good rule. I am sure many middle aged women cannot keep their eyes off fit French men in Speedos, I know I a lot of looks from women of all types, unfortunately from the bigger ones who have let themselves go. Just google " Fit French boy in Speedos" to see what I mean ( Google performance sure to slow to a a crawl)
Hi again Nico, I was told it was because of safety reasons. The extra bouyancy in the shorts could be an actual danger rather than anything else. I never figured out this reasoning personally but there we go ! Can't imagine this being an issue in Hartlepool sur Mer !
My French OH has the official answer: it's a hygiene issue. The tight swimsuit is designed to prevent not only pubic hair, but lice attached to that hair, from escaping into the pool. Also, there is an assumption if someone is wearing "shorts", that these are street clothes, and therefore not clean. One can make different arguments about the logic of all this, but these are the reasons behind it. Every country or state or municipality makes up their own hygiene rules for public areas.
Obviously a man with a true footballing pedigree David. Baggies every time for me. We should all-be-on the case....
the pool I use has recently changed its rules, and the only fins now allowed are "loisirs" ones, ie shorter ones.
Seems reasonable to ban shorts that may have pockets containing unspecified junk, as well as cut-down jeans that shed threads, in order to protect the filtration system. But I am surprised that they allow the use of fins in public sessions. I think these are a potential danger to other swimmers. Some maniac recently recently kicked the goggles off my face!
Ha ha ha, Véronique, that really did make me rofl or as my kids would say 'MDR'
There are lots of germs around most public swimming pools, and this may be only slightly to do with clothing. I picked up something nasty in a health hydro in the Czech Republic although I religiously washed before and after. Not just swimming pools either. But then we can't exclude all risk from life. At my primary school back in the 1950's we were obliged to swim naked (nobody told us about perverts in those days). There has been some serious research on this topic
It is supposed to be for reasons of hygiene. Those boardshort type of male swim trunks can be worn walking around the city etc. They don't want the men then to go into the pool with those same shorts. So be ensuring they wear those speedo types, they can be sure of the hygiene. It is a bother, but on the other hand, it is kind of reassuring that nobody is swimming in their streetwear
This has all gone too far. I shall continue to dress as normal.
I'll have you know that Fr people refer to what you call 'budgie smugglers' as 'ostrich smugglers' & they like to strut their stuff, which is the true explanation.
OK it's a blood red lie.
I am not surprised as there are hairy backs to negate any benefit. I looked on Youtube and there were many pools with people seemingly wearing shorts too.
Not all French pools. They are plenty that don't make you wear one (Narbonne, Albi).
In France AFAIK swimming caps are mandatory. The German pools are cleaner because of the excellent German Din standards for water treatment. The filtration strips pretty much everything out of the water because they use fine filtration and activated charcoal to remove everything then just add a little chlorine of the water returning. Excellent standards.
I should have thought a better rule would be to oblige everyone to wear swimming caps, women especially as their hair is usually longer. Little bits of hair, pubic or otherwise, aren't a particular problem. If they were some men would have to shave their backs before they could use the pool. It's long strands that get caught in and block the filters. Here in Strasbourg swimming caps are not compulsory, but anyone with long hair has to tie it up. And if you go 5K across the Rhine and swim in a German pool you don't have to wear budgie smugglers. And the German pools are cleaner.
You may be right, but this might still be the reason for the French to impose speedos. It is not what you know that counts, but what they believe.