France to set legal age of sexual consent as 15

The French government is proposing a law that would say anyone under 15 cannot consent to sex, after widespread shock at two cases involving 11-year-old girls.

It would be the first such law in France, which currently does not have a rule saying a child under a certain age is considered incapable of consenting to sex.

The government's women's affairs office said Tuesday that it has decided to set the threshold at 15 in a bill to be presented to parliament later this month.

The move was guided by advice from doctors and legal experts and consultations with the public.

Equality Minister Marlène Schiappa has welcomed the decision, telling AFP news agency she is "very glad" with the outcome.

Macron pledged to push for an age of sexual consent in December, saying, “Our criminal law contains intolerable ambiguities ... our entire society is sick with sexism."

Once the bill is passed in Parliament, the new law is expected to come into effect within the next few weeks.

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Under existing French law, prosecutors must prove a sexual act was forced in order to bring charges of rape in cases where the victim is aged 15 or younger.

When a conviction is successful, the punishment - a 20-year jail sentence - is much harsher than in cases where the victim is not a minor.

However, if coercion is not established in these cases, perpetrators can only be charged with sexual abuse of a minor, punishable by five years in jail.

In two recent separate legal cases, adult men were accused of having sex with 11-year-old girls, who were considered consenting under French law.

In November, a court acquitted one of the men, aged 30, of rape, having determined his victim had faced no "constraint, threat, violence or surprise" - the definition of rape under French law.

In a similar case, a court decided the 28-year-old accused should face charges of sexual assault rather than rape because the victim was not "physically forced" into intercourse.

However, this decision has since been reversed.

Both cases attracted public condemnation.