Overview
- The Senate approved the bill 327–0 with 15 abstentions after the National Assembly’s broad backing, and the measure now awaits President Emmanuel Macron’s signature.
- The reform states that any non-consensual sexual act constitutes sexual assault, that consent must be assessed in context, and that silence or lack of reaction cannot be taken as consent.
- The code retains that violence, coercion, threat or surprise negate consent, replacing a framework that had required proving those elements to establish rape.
- The overhaul was accelerated by the Gisèle Pelicot mass-rape case and aligns France with countries such as Sweden, Germany, Spain and the UK that use consent-based definitions.
- Advocates and lawmakers call for training for police and magistrates, stronger victim support and sex education with impact monitoring, while critics warn of evidentiary pitfalls and only far-right deputies opposed the change in the lower house.