

In December, Macron said he would push for the age of sexual consent and the presumption of rape to both be set at 15, saying: "Our criminal law contains intolerable ambiguities."Įquality Minister Marlene Schiappa said the government "has decided to set the age at 15," after consultations with the public and an expert panel. President Emmanuel Macron met his future wife, Brigitte, when he was around 14 and she was 38 and a teacher at his school. In the other case, charges against a 28-year-old man, also accused of raping an 11-year-old girl, were downgraded to "sexual relations with a minor."įrance has long had a relatively laid-back attitude to relationships between teens and adults. In November, a 30-year-old man was cleared of rape after the court found that the victim had not been subjected to "constraint, threat, violence or surprise." In order for an incident to qualify as rape, prosecutors have to prove the victim was forced. However, adult sex with a minor younger than 15 is classified as sexual assault or molesting, punishable by up to five years in prison, compared with 20 years in prison for rape. Other international helplines can be found at /rcip/ French government has proposed a law to set 15 as the age of consent for sex following two high-profile cases in which men escaped rape convictions despite having intercourse with 11-year-old girls.įrance currently has no age of consent.

In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 08 in England and Wales, 08 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. A Tale of Two Countries: A Comparative Perspective on Sexual Consent of Minors in England and France. So too did the fall from grace in 2020 of the writer Gabriel Matzneff who had written openly about his pedophilia.įrance had already toughened its sex crimes laws in 2018 when it outlawed sexual harassment on the streets, leaving catcallers and aggressively lecherous individuals facing potential on-the-spot fines. Howwwwwwwever, I also feel like the show runners. But, the age of consent in France is 15, so legally she didnt do anything wrong.
Age of consent in france movie#
In a country that has long cherished its self-image as the land of seduction and romance, sexual abuse against women and children for years went undetected or undeclared in the upper echelons of power and within celebrity circles.īut the #MeToo movement that swept around the world after numerous women in 2017 accused US movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault proved a turning point in France. Here the age of consent is 16 and we count as ‘the west’ It’s widely accepted and not even thought of as weird for say a 20-30 year old to sleep with a 16 year old. The legislation also considers incestuous sex with a minor under 18 to be rape. For anyone who has recently interacted with a 15-year-old, this brings up some pivotal questions. The clause will not apply in cases of sexual assault. France is hurriedly instating an age of sexual consent15. There had been concerns from some lawmakers that an age of consent below which sex automatically constituted rape might criminalise a consensual sexual relationship between a minor and a person only a few years older.Īs a consequence, a “Romeo and Juliet” clause allows for sexual relations between a minor and an individual up to five years older. The vote in favour of the bill was unanimous at its final reading, the Assembly said on Twitter. “No adult aggressor will be able to claim the consent of a minor younger than 15 years old.” “This is an historic law for our children and our society,” justice minister Éric Dupond-Moretti told the National Assembly on Thursday.
