The French government is asking the law to set the age for sexual consent at 15

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Paris – The French government wants to set the age of sexual consent at 15 and make it easier to punish child sexual abuse for a long time, amid rising public pressure and a wave of online testimonies about rape and other sexual violence by parents and authorities. Calling such treatment of children “intolerable,” the justice ministry said in a statement that “the government is determined to act quickly to implement the changes our society expects.”

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Protesters hold placards reading “Rape (not equal) consent”, “Rape = crime” and “Solidarity with Julie”, November 18, 2020, in Paris, during a rally convened by feminist groups after a French court held the legal classification of “sexual assault” in the charge of three firefighters in relation to relations with a 14-year-old minor, “Julie”, in 2009. The Court of Appeal of Versailles rejected a request to reclassify the charges as “rape”.

THOMAS SAMSON / AFP / Getty


“An act of sexual penetration by an adult on a minor under the age of 15 will be considered rape,” Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti told France-2 television on Tuesday. Consent could no longer be cited to lessen the allegations, but exceptions would be made for teens who have consensual sex, he said.

The change should still be enshrined in law, but the announcement is a major step after years of efforts to strengthen French protection for children victims of rape and sexual violence.

Scandal stimulates momentum

A push to set France’s first age of consent three years ago, as a result of the global #MeToo movement, it failed due to legal complications.

The effort has gained momentum since last month’s allegations of incestuous sexual abuse involving a prominent French political expert, Olivier Duhamel. This triggered an online #MeTooInceste movement in France, which led to hundreds of similar testimonies.

Portrait session Olivier Duhamel
French constitutionalist and political scientist Olivier Duhamel poses during a portrait session in Paris, France, March 30, 2019.

Eric Fougere / Corbis / Getty


The Ministry of Justice says it is in talks with victim groups about toughening the incest punishment and extending or abolishing the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse, which has prevented prosecution in several high-profile cases in France in recent years.

It also says it wants to “ensure that victims of the same perpetrator do not receive different legal treatment”, which could widen the scope of criminal prosecution of people accused of abusing several people over the decades.

In Duhamel’s case, the Paris prosecutor opened an investigation into the alleged “sexual rape and abuse of a person who exercises authority” over a child following public accusations in a book by his stepdaughter that he abused her twin brother in the years 1980, when the brothers were 13 years old.

Duhamel said he was “the target of personal attacks” and gave up his many professional positions, including as a respected TV commentator and head of the National Foundation for Political Science.

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