Nude Feud: Fundamentalist nudists terrorize naked swingers in France

A Nudist Beach at Cap d'Agde, France (Wikipedia).

The nudist holiday getaway of Cap d'Agde, on France's Languedoc coast, has become ground zero in a war between two factions of the clothing-free: "traditional" naturists, and free sex advocates or "libertines." All hell broke loose at a "naked city" town council meeting this week. From the UK Independent:

Old-fashioned naturists have been complaining for years that Cap d'Agde's once-sedate nudist quarter has been disfigured by an influx of partner-swapping clubs and raunchy hotels. A flurry of arson attacks on sex clubs two years ago was blamed on low-level terrorism by nudist fundamentalists.

Oh, but on the other side? They're no innocents either, mon frere. Another snip from the Independent article, this part attributed to Deirdre Morrissey—a journalist with the Irish Independent who "sampled the nightlife" and found the libertines to be pretty pushy:

"Over our après-dinner cappuccino, we were a little surprised to see a buffed-up guy dressed in a police uniform mincing around the seating area of the restaurant bothering the patrons. [He ended by] thrusting his naked bits at a pair of female diners, like some sort of bizarre, hedonistic digestif."

Mr d'Ettore said yesterday that he would consider the complaints but had already done all he could to keep the two tribes from each other's throats. By-laws had been passed to ban minors from the raunchier establishments. The protesters were not necessarily representative, he said. There had been no formal complaints this summer.

Nudists fight for bare essentials as swingers invade holiday colony (Independent.co.uk)

(Nudism brochure scan from the Flickr stream of "A Journey Round My Skull.")

• [Nadreck]

  The Continental French are so sophisticated about these things. I recall an attempt to set up a big nudist colony in Quebec. It was way out in the wilderness. The Provincial Police, the notorious QPP, battled their way into this wilderness: through swamps and underbrush; through swarms of blackflies and fanged wildlife; down dirt roads that could hardly be called footpaths.

  When the survivors got there they battered down the gates and tore down the high fences around the place. Then they arrested everyone for Public Indecency.

• [zio_donnie]

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azGJv76RHgc&feature=related

  Obligatory Luis De Funes reference. I couldn’t find the scene where the Gendarmeriè ambushes the nudists.

• [Anonymous]

  Long time U.S. nudist weighing in here.

  You can bring the two extremes together, but common areas must by default be comfortable for non-swingers.

  And when we non-swingers get hit on (graciously, we hope), we can just say, “How about we skip right past that and go straight to friendship?” No harm, no fowl, unless the swingers are public, blatant and tedious about their one-dimensional social agenda.

• [Cydonia]

  “Nude Feud.” Best band name ever?

• [Anonymous]

  Wow, I had no idea BB was overran by puritan Americans.
  Hadn’t thought it was too much to ask from people here to be accepting of other lifestyles…

  …then again, if I was in the position of these nudists, I think I’d be more than slightly miffed at people who think that no clothes = sex and therefore everything is excused. I’m sure they appreciate that type of thinking in sauna cultures in the north and the Baltic.

  • [Master Pokes]

    And there are those who would be annoyed at your annoyance by those who believe that sex is the highest form of human behavior and exchange and do it with gusto as often as possible.

    A fascinating case of no right or wrong, just different.

• [robulus]

  Its funny, because nudists are all like “oh its not a sexual thing we are just comfortable with our nakidity” and the libertines are all like “actually as soon as I get my kit off I can’t think about anything but sex”.

  Its a challenge to a challenge of accepted standards.

• [Brian Taylor – British Naturism]

  Cap d’Agde has been a naturist resort for very many years and although there has probably always been a certain level of sexual activity – just as there is anywhere in the world – it has been discreet, as you would expect it to be. The present problem is caused by some selfish ill-mannered people who wish to shove it in people’s faces and thereby spoil the family atmosphere of the resort. All we are saying is consider others and stop spoiling the place for those families that do not want this.

  Imagine the furore if a threesome with loads of S&M gear where to start having sex in your local supermarket! There would be a public outcry and they would be arrested (there are laws against it). It is just as unwelcome at a naturist resort (there are no laws against non-sexual nudity in most European countries).

  No-on wants it in the local supermarket and naturists don’t want it in a naturist resort – it is not naturism!

• [Mr. Sleepy]

  Whats’ the big whoop?? Everybuddy gets it together and “works” it out. Everybuddy’s got a role, er rather, a hole, to fill when it comes to serving the community. ;)

• [Mr. Sleepy]

  And by the way– you french pervs got little kids goin to this?? :/

  • [Certhas]

    Mr Sleepy, because God forbid somebody under 18 see a naked body, right? Barely clad hypersexualized underwear ads the size of skyscrapers are ok, because you don’t see nipples though. (rolls eyes)

    But that’s the point, nudism originally isn’t really sexual, thus the strong reaction to the swingers. At the mixed sex saunas (nudity mandatory) in Germany you’d get thrown out immediately for anything sexual.

  • [Anonymous]

    I resent the hint that nudism (naturism) is a ‘perversion’. Nudity is as natural as sneezing, and there is nothing wrong with having kids around when it’s treated like it is: a non-issue.
    In the case of swingers, I don’t understand why would kids be involved, either.

    Finally, I think including the pedobear on the photo is doing a disservice to both communities by smearing them with something they are not: pedo-philes. It’s the kind of tarnishing we come to expect from a lot of ignorant people, but not from BB.

    • [duggo42]

      I wouldn’t expose children to strangers’ sneezes, either.

• [zio_donnie]

  I love this planet.

• [Brainspore]

  “Over our après-dinner cappuccino, we were a little surprised to see a buffed-up guy dressed in a police uniform mincing around the seating area of the restaurant bothering the patrons. [He ended by] thrusting his naked bits at a pair of female diners, like some sort of bizarre, hedonistic digestif.”

  OK, two things:

  1. Do French police uniforms include pants?
  2. What idiot thrusts his naked bits at people holding hot coffee and dessert forks?

• [dhalgren]

  Reading the article from the Independent makes the situation sound like a community you might find in the J.G. Ballard novels SUPER-CANNES and COCAINE NIGHTS.

  An interesting clash between old school natural nudists and those who just want to get naked and fuck. Seriously interesting.

• [irksome]

  We WUVS you, Pedobear!

• [Donald Petersen]

  I demand more coverage of this.

  Naked people feuding. It would get far better ratings than the usual sectarian strife.

  Must get back to France one day…

• [JustOk]

  uh, that bear looks a little familar…
  Is this a family beach?

  • [Xeni Jardin]

    You noticed! Bless you.

  • [Micah]

    Apparently the French haven’t gotten the memo from the California cops.

• [Anonymous]

  What’s Pedobear doing at a french nudie beach?

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    What’s Pedobear doing at a french nudie beach?

    That’s Pedobear’s lesser known cousin, Pedalobear.

  • [mdh]

    it’s almost too much to bear.

• [Anonymous]

  Well, apparently both sides are exercising their right to bare arms.

• [grimc]

  Finally, the naked grab for power by the naturists is bared for all to see.

• [knoxblox]

  Not the only place in the world where naturists bear the brunt of pervy behavior, although the pervs wound up all wet.
  This from Austin, Texas’ own nude beach, Hippie Hollow (nudity on page, though you have to squint), presenting an AP article about a famous peeping incident:

  http://www.hippiehollow.com/news/news_comments.php?id=10_0_2_0_C

  By the way, if I was a young lady confronted by a policeman’s sausage while trying to eat my dinner, I’d have stuck my fork in it.

• [Anonymous]

  What is pedobear doing on the beach at night? The kids come out in the day!

• [knoxblox]

  I guess there could possibly be more sympathy for the nudists’ plight in a different context, where say…they were people who wanted freedom to practice their own religion(s) when a bunch of fundamental conservatives come to town and try to convert everyone.

• [Nash Rambler]

  And here I thought Americans would be the ones to take the fun out of nudity. Way to beat us to the punch, France.

• [turn_self_off]

  oh the buns, they burn…

• [Brainspore]

  I hope nobody is comparing nudism to pedophilia. Unless these particular nudists ARE pedophiles, in which case the rest of the problems this beach is experiencing are pretty tame by comparison.

  • [zio_donnie]

    Of course not. Everyone knows that nudism has nothing to do with pedophilia. But the French on the other hand… In the pic you can clearly see Le Pedobeure. Coincidence? I think not.

• [Anonymous]

  I find it amusing that Boing Boing is covering an article about jiggle jiggle and flop flop.

• [Teller]

  As I understand it, the arson plaintiff filed a birthday suit.

• [bcsizemo]

  To bad this wasn’t south of the border….that sombrero Pedrobear wears is pretty sweet.

  • [Xeni Jardin]

    lawl

• [Anonymous]

  I read the wikipedia on naturism/nudity in the naturist sense. I saw the pictures of people hiking without any clothes on and I WTF’d big time. I mean, I enjoy poison ivy on and branches thwacking my nads as much as the next guy, but this is a clear example of a situation where wearing clothing is much more safe and comfortable.

  I doubt there are many naturist colonies in the desert or the tundra. In other words, naturism is incredibly unnatural for a species that has lost most of it’s fur, body hair.

  • [Brainspore]

    I doubt there are many naturist colonies in the desert or the tundra. In other words, naturism is incredibly unnatural for a species that has lost most of it’s fur, body hair.

    Our species did not evolve to survive in desert or tundra, and we lost most of our body hair long before we developed clothing. Many peoples around the world still live a nude or near-nude lifestyle in climates similar to that in which we evolved as a species.

• [Anonymous]

  I have had 20 years experience, 8 at a family naturist camping resort club near Toronto, Canada and 12 years at a new CO beach, 20 minutes from downtown Toronto. I know the expectations of the naturist community which is a community that behaves in an ordinary way, but doing everything nude. The behavior of swingers or sexual social groups is unknown to the naturist community which rare exceptions. Naturism is for those who prefer to be nude in a NON-SEXUAL environment which is compatable with family nudism and totally inclusive of all ages. On the other hand, swinging, fetish groupgs and social sex groups and people who are nude, but the difference and it’s a HUGE difference in philosopy of life, is that they are focused only on creating a sexual environment, incompatable with family life, raising children and all the great activities of nudist clubs like volleyball tournaments, swim nights, Pot Lucks, etc,. Hardly swinger activities. Make no mistake, Nudists and Swingers are at the opposite ends of the the pole of nude life. You can not bring these opposite philosophies together. Does not work. The real problem is that naturists have done the work of setting up our resorts and it’s an attempt by swingers to take over. Let the swings spend the money to set up their own resorts and please show respect for all, the basic concept of naturism. Go after the hotel managers, they are the REAL problem at the Cap. IMHO. Dave Fleming (I was there in 1985, no night sex then)

• [bat21]

  Reminds me of a story my mom told me about a boy she knew who hated to wear clothes. He ran around naked, annoying everyone. One day, he crossed paths with a hungry duck. He survived the encounter but always wore clothes afterwards.

• [Dinosaurus]

  What will they think of next?