France passes new sex assault law to protect minors after Olivier Duhamel scandal

France toughened laws on the rape of children

Credit: AP Photo/Francois Mori

France on Thursday passed a new law to protect minors from sexual abuse in the wake of a controversy about incest. 

The law passed through the French senate making it a crime for an adult to inflict any act of sexual penetration on minors under 13 years of age, and punishable by 20 years of prison.

The vote took place after the country was hit earlier in the month by a scandal involving prominent political commentator Olivier Duhamel, accused of raping his stepson when he was a teenager.  

Mr Duhamel described the allegations as "personal attacks". 

Several public figures have spoken out on the issue, including first lady Brigitte Macron who called on Sunday for judicial reform to fight back against incest.

Initially submitted to the Senate in December, last-minute amendments were made to the bill in the wake of the incest scandal, including toughening of sentences. 

It finds incest to be an aggravating factor, which could add up to ten additional years in jail and a £130,000 fine.

Another key part of the new legislation is that the limitation period in which victims can bring suits, which has been extended from 6 years to 10 in case of sexual assault, and 20 for rape.

“I’m a doctor, and I’m the mother of three daughters, so I’m very concerned with the issue of children’s sexual abuse” senator Marie Mercier, rapporteur of the Senate’s legislation committee, who was defending the bill. “French law already protects children but this new bill can be credited with creating more clarity and adding more protection.”

The allegations against Mr Duhamel were made public earlier in January by his stepdaughter Camille Kouchner. The release of a book outlining the alleged abuse has triggered a wave of incest abuse testimonies on social media, with users speaking out under the hashtag #MeTooInceste.

A leading French cartoonist,  Xavier Gorce, on Wednesday said he would no longer work for Le Monde after the newspaper apologised for a cartoon he drew that tackled the controversy with a drawing of two penguins. The smaller penguin asks the other: "If I was abused by the adopted half-brother of the partner of my transgender father who has now become my mother, is that incest?"

In an apology to readers, Le Monde’s editor-in-chief Caroline Monnot said the cartoon should not have been published. 

The latest developments are an indicator of the French intellectual elite’s struggle to face issues of sexual consent and prevailing societal taboos.