Overview
- The Senate gave final approval after earlier passage in the National Assembly, so the consent-based text is now adopted by Parliament.
- The law defines sexual assault as any non-consensual act and specifies that silence or lack of reaction is not consent, which must be free, specific and revocable.
- Parliament backed the reform with broad support, with opposition mainly from the far right.
- Outcry over the Avignon case of Gisèle Pélicot, who was drugged by her husband and raped by men he recruited online, reignited the debate; 51 men received sentences of about three to 20 years.
- France joins European countries with consent-based rape laws as Austria signals interest in a similar move, while Germany keeps its 'No means no' standard and previously blocked an EU-wide shift to 'Only yes means yes'.