Advertisers in the French town of Le Pecq have been told to remove an image which appears to feature two women almost kissing.

According to reports, parents in the town had complained to the mayor’s office, after the ad was put up in the town to the West of Paris.

The parents demanded that the posters, which they deemed to be offensive, be removed.

“We got dozens of calls from concerned parents who said they didn’t want their children exposed to this image,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told Le Parisien on Wednesday. “They said they felt uncomfortable answering their children’ questions about the poster.”

Posters were then removed by advertising contractor JC Decaux earlier this week.

Despite the complaints, the advert actually only featured one woman, actress Marine Vacth. The ad for jeweller Chaumet, is called “Double Je” (Double Me), and is based on the myth of Narcissus.

Nonetheless, the move was criticised by gay rights campaigners, who dubbed the image’s removals as an “insult”, saying: “We cannot be expected to hide our existence and way of life just because it embarrasses certain parents.

Flora Bolter of the LGBT centre in the city continued: “It is perfectly normal that children should ask questions and to understand that some couples are different to others.”

A billboard advertising a gay film festival which actually did feature two men kissing was banned from being displayed in Brisbane earlier this year.