Which one do you think wins in its weirdness?
Some European countries have in theirs legislates some rather strange laws – while some are old, others on this list are quite new.
Absurd laws of European countries:
Salmon Law - England and Scotland
The Salmon Act 1986 regulates the fishing of salmon. Section 32 states that it should be prohibited to catch salmon in unusual circumstances.
Riding a horse under the influence of alcohol is prohibited - England
In England, it is said to be illegal to ride a horse or drive a carriage under the influence of alcohol - the law dates back to 1872, before cars were invented.
Infectious taxi ban - Great Britain
Britain's Public Health Act of 1984 is said to state that an infected passenger must tell the taxi driver about his medical condition and the latter can bar him from entering the taxi.
Promotion of healthy eating - France
In France, promotional companies have strict regulations regarding promoting poor nutrition - if they are preparing an advertisement for a food that contains a lot of sugar, they must also include in the advertisement the advice to eat at least five pieces of fruit or vegetables a day.
Legally marrying the deceased - France
In France, it is supposedly allowed to marry a dead person, but you have to have enough evidence that they intended to marry before that person died. The law came into effect during the time of President de Gaulle. A widow has reportedly written a touching letter to the president asking if she can marry her recently deceased fiance and the president changed the marriage.
Music ban in taxi - Finland
In 2002, Finland reportedly passed a law banning taxi drivers from playing music - they are allowed to play music if they pay 14 euros a year for copyright.
Personal Names Act - Denmark
In Denmark, parents have to choose their child's name from a list of established names - there are about 18,000 female and 15,000 male names on the list. They can write to the authorities and ask for a certain name to be added to the list, but the name must not be too outlandish.
Prohibition of nudist visits to mountains - Switzerland
In Switzerland, it is supposedly forbidden to walk naked in the surrounding mountains. The law is quite young – the Swiss government only enforced it in 2011 after a German man was seen roaming naked in the pastures.
Act on the freezing of the sea between Sweden and Denmark - Denmark
The law dates back to 1658, when Sweden and Denmark were at war for two years. At that time, the Danes were allowed to beat a Swede with a stick if he came to their territory via the frozen sea (this happened often at that time). Of course, the law is no longer enforced (partly because global warming no longer allows temperatures so low that the sea freezes), but no one has removed it yet.
Sex workers must wear safety vest - Spain
In 2010, Catalonia reportedly passed a law requiring sex workers to wear a safety vest. Because they often stay on the busy road looking for customers, there have been several fatal accidents. With a safety vest, they are more visible to potential inattentive drivers.
