Socialist MP Céline Thiébault-Martinez at the Assemblée Nationale in Paris, May 28, 2025. THIBAUD MORITZ / AFP
Socialist MP Céline Thiébault-Martinez presented on Monday, November 24, alongside feminist associations and representatives from eight parliamentary groups, a "comprehensive" bill aimed at tackling violence against women and children. According to the latest figures from the French interministerial mission for the protection of women, published on November 20, 277,000 adult women reported being victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault in 2023 – the equivalent of one woman every two minutes. In 2024, 1,283 women were victims of direct or indirect femicide (including cases where harassment by a partner led to suicide).
The bill contains 78 articles. Backed by more than 100 lawmakers, it is the result of 10 months of work carried out with all political groups except the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and its ally, the Union des Droites pour la République (UDR).
The drafting of the bill was unique in that it was "co-constructed" with the non-profit sector. The "wide-reaching piece of legislation" draws directly from the work of about 60 feminist associations that, in November 2024, put forward 140 proposals to provide a comprehensive response to the widespread phenomenon of gender-based and sexual violence.
