And we're lucky to get the streets plowed

In Paris, nude models are a public service.

Models who pose for Paris' Beaux Arts workshops have staged a nude strike to have their work recognised as a "proper profession".



Braving freezing conditions, the models - of all ages, shapes and sizes - bared all in front of the cultural section of the Paris town hall, which runs the art workshops, saying their aim was "not to shock but to show how we work".

The models, who are paid by the Paris town hall, said the mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, should spend a little less on grand cultural gestures and more on lower-profile activities like theirs. They also want fixed contracts.

[From Paris nude models bare all in strike to be recognised as professionals - Telegraph]

(Noted by our Seattle bureau)