Marie-Charlotte Garin, a Green MP, at the Assemblée Nationale in Paris, July 8, 2025. GUILLAUME BAPTISTE / AFP
The definition of rape and sexual assault in the French penal code is about to be rewritten. After a lengthy parliamentary process, the Assemblée Nationale approved on Thursday, October 23, in a decisive vote, the inclusion of the concept of consent in the law. A majority of 155 MPs, out of 186 votes cast, adopted the bill. One year after the trial for the Mazan mass rapes, in which the lack of consent from Gisèle Pélicot was a central issue, this significant change to French law is set to be finalized by a last vote in the Sénat on October 29.
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French rape trial: From a personal battle to collective awareness
"Feminist victories are beautiful victories and collective victories," said Marie-Charlotte Garin, a lawmaker from France's Green party, at the Assemblée, thanking "the victims who spoke out before, when it was difficult to speak," alongside Véronique Riotton, a lawmaker from Macron's party, Renaissance.
