Overview
- The Senate approved the bill 327–0 with 15 abstentions, completing passage after the National Assembly’s 155–31 vote and leaving formal publication and implementation as the next steps.
- Rape is now defined as any non-consensual sexual act, with consent required to be freely given, informed, specific, prior and revocable, and not inferred from silence or lack of reaction.
- The reform retains that there is no consent where violence, coercion, threat or surprise is present, updating France’s previously force-based legal definition.
- Momentum accelerated after Gisèle Pelicot’s case, in which her ex-husband and 50 other men were convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting her over years.
- Advocacy groups welcomed the move and urged investment in education, police and judicial training, and survivor services, while critics warned of evidentiary challenges and called for broader systemic reforms.