French parliament passes sexual assault law changes sparked by mass rape of Giselle Pelicot

The French Senate approved a bill on October 29 that changes the legal definition of rape and other sexual harassment. Last week, the far-right, including Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party, was the only parliamentary group to vote against the law in the lower house of the National Assembly.

France 24 writes about this.

The bill states that “any sexual act without consent constitutes sexual violence”. Consent is defined as “freely given, informed, specific, prior and revocable” and assessed “taking into account the circumstances”. The text states that “consent cannot be inferred solely from the victim’s silence or lack of response”.

The legislative changes were prompted by the high-profile Giselle Pelicot gang rape trial. The bill was introduced in January, just weeks after 51 men were convicted of raping and abusing Giselle Pelicot.

President Emmanuel Macron is expected to sign the document, which would see France join many other European countries with similar rape laws. Until now, French law defined rape as penetration or oral sex using “violence, coercion, threats or surprise”.

France has taken other steps in recent years to toughen penalties for sexual harassment, including setting the age of consent at 15 in 2021. Previously, the country had no such law.

• The Pelicot rape case began in 2020. At that time, 67-year-old Dominique Pelicot was caught filming women up their skirts. During the investigation, police found evidence on his computer that he drugged his wife for almost a decade and recruited dozens of men online to rape her at home while she was unconscious. Giselle Pelicot decided to go public with the case and became a new symbol of the fight for womenʼs rights.
• On December 19, 2024, Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and 50 other men were also sentenced.

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