-
Stena Line to end popular France-Ireland ferry crossing
Rival operators will continue to serve Cherbourg port as passenger numbers on route increase
-
Red heatwave alerts continue as storms sweep across France
South-west and Brittany are the only areas likely to avoid storms this evening after several temperature records were broken in the south yesterday
-
Air traffic controllers’ strike: Paris and south of France airports to face major disruption
Half of flights in Nice and Corsica, and a quarter in Paris are cancelled on July 3. Disruption is also expected on July 4 just before the French school holidays begin
France to fix age of consent at 15 years
Stricter sexual harassment and rape punishments follow
After months of public debate on the issue, the French government has created a bill to fix the age of consent for sex at 15.
The bill will also combat sexual harassment in public (outrage sexiste) with on-the-spot fines of between €90 and €750 (higher for repeat offenders) and to extend the time limit from 20 to 30 years for the reporting of child rape. It now needs to be passed by parliament.
However, the implementation of Equality Minister Marlène Schiappa’s law does not make the qualification of rape automatic for any relationship between an adult and a minor under 15. The Council of State said it will always be on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of judges.
Currently the law states that while sex with anyone under 15 is illegal, it must be proven that force was used.
The government hopes these moves will go some way towards resolving a crisis revealed by the ‘balancetonporc’ (grass on your pig) movement, and a string of scandals involving politicians, footballers and business leaders, which led President Macron to declare last November that “our entire society is ill with sexismâ€.
Police unions have said the outrage sexiste law would be almost impossible to enforce.