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Emmanuel Macron's government pushed for it to be set higher.

'Finally': France seeks to establish age of consent at 15

The bill does allow for sex between a teen and a young adult up to five years older – a gap criticised by some MPs as too large but which Dupond-Moretti defended, saying he did not want "to put a youngster aged 18 on trial because he had consensual sex with a girl aged fourteen and a half."

The legislation also cracks down on online paedophilia, with any person caught trying to groom children aged under 15 for sexual acts over the internet facing up to 10 years in prison and a fine of €150,000 ($180,000).

The French National Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill defining as rape any act of sexual penetration between an adult and a minor under 15, punishable by up to 20 years in jail.

The move enforces an age of consent in a country where previous legislation on the matter was often seen as “ambiguous.”

Sex between adults and minors under 15 was already illegal, but was up until now only prosecuted as rape if there was proof of coercion through “violence, constraint, threat or surprise.” When there was no proof of coercion, it was prosecuted as another, lighter offense called atteinte sexuelle sur mineur or “sexual act on a minor,” punishable by up to seven years in prison.

“No adult aggressor will be able to claim a minor [under 15] was consenting,” Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti told the Assembly.

A so-called Romeo and Juliet provision will allow consensual sexual relationships between a minor under 15 and an adult teenager, if the age difference is under five years. The provision passed despite some MPs proposing to lower the difference, “to take into account the fact that a 13-year-old child never has the necessary judgment” to consent to sex with an 18-year-old, MP Albane Gaillot said

France
The age of consent in France is 15, as specified by Article 227-25 of the Penal Code, which reads; "Except in the cases of rape or sexual assault provided for in Section 3 of Chapter II of this Title, the act of sexual assault on a minor under the age of fifteen for an adult is punishable by seven years' imprisonment and a fine of €100,000."[29]

Article 222-22 defines sexual assault as “any sexual assault committed with violence, coercion, threat or surprise”. Article 222-22-1 then specifies that coercion can be either physical or moral. The moral coercion or surprise may result from the authority of law or fact that an adult has over a minor, and this de facto authority “may be characterized by a significant age difference between the minor victim and the adult perpetrator”.[30]

Article 227-22 prohibits “promoting or attempting to promote the corruption of a minor”, as well as "organizing meetings involving indecent exposure or sexual relations knowing that minors are present or participating". (Minors refers to under 15s; the text of the article can be subject to interpretation).[31]

Article 227-22-1 prohibits the "soliciting of a minor under the age of fifteen, or a person pretending to be such minor, for sexual purposes through the use of a computer system".[32]

Article 227-27 prohibits sexual relations with minors over age 15 (aged 15, 16 or 17) "1° where they are committed by an ascendant or by any other person having a legal or factual authority over the victim; 2° where they are committed by a person abusing the authority conferred by his functions."[33]

In 2021 the French law was amended so that any sexual activity with a person below 15 is automatically classified as rape or sexual assault, unless the other party is within five years of age as per a Romeo and Juliet clause. However, this five year exception was not extended to Article 227–25, which carries a potential 7-year sentence of imprisonment. Additionally, the law categorizes as rape any sex with a relative below 15 years of age.[34]

Further information: French petition against age of consent laws