PARIS.- More than 20 male and female models, some of them posing nude and others covered up participated in a protest on a ban on tips and to demand better pay and recognition outside the Paris cultural affairs offices. "The action was triggered by a recent decision by the Paris authorities to enforce a ban on artists' tips, known as "cornet" after the rolled-up cone of drawing paper in which painters traditionally dropped some money for their models," reported Reuters.

The Deputy of Cultural Affairs told Bloomberg that while it was necessary to follow the law, a pay increase to compensate the models’ loss might be possible.

In France, life-modeling is a serious career choice, so when city hall, which runs the life-drawing classes, banned the tradition, it left many life models scrambling. The models are forced to survive on minimum wage with no fixed contracts, holiday pay or job security, so models are often strapped for cash and must rely on tips to survive, reported AHN.