France needs ‘clearer’ rape laws that include consent, report finds
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MPs say the need for consent-based law was highlighted again by trial of 51 men over abuse of Gisèle Pelicot. France should update its rape law to add a clear reference to consent, a parliamentary report has found, months after French society was shaken by the trial of 51 men over the repeated drugging and rape of Gisèle Pelicot.
The report, to be presented on Tuesday, said action must be taken urgently to update the law. “Almost 10 years after the start of the #MeToo movement, and as the [Pelicot] trial showed once again, the fight against rape culture must be a priority: the fight against rape culture needs a law that is clearer,” it found.
Two MPs – Véronique Riotton from Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, Ensemble pour la République, and Marie-Charlotte Garin, a Green who is part of the left alliance, New Popular Front – have worked since 2023 to produce recommendations for adding a consent-based definition of rape to French law.
Their work began before the biggest rape trial in French history in which Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, and 50 other men were found guilty in December after she was drugged and raped while unconscious in her home. The MPs proposed that a consent-based definition of rape be added to the existing wording of the French law, which defines rape as any penetrative act committed against someone using “violence, coercion, threat or surprise”. It makes no clear mention of the need for a partner’s consent.
