Macron faces backlash over U-turn on rape law — RT World News
The French president has promised to incorporate “consent” into new legislation on sexual assault, after opposing its inclusion in EU directives.
French President Emmanuel Macron has come under fire after he said he supports incorporating the idea that a sexual act without consent should fall under the country's criminal definition of rape.
The statement came as a surprise to the public, given that Paris opposed the same idea in EU directives last month.
Macron's statement came on March 8, when he met with members of the feminist association Choisir la Cause des femmes (Choice of Women's Issues), on the occasion of International Women's Day.
According to a video seen by AFP this week, the French president told the women's rights group: “I completely agree that it should be included in French law, and this approval must be enshrined.” addition “I will enshrine it in French law.”
The legal definition of rape in France includes concepts “Violence, coercion, threat or surprise” But it was not mentioned “consent.” Women's rights advocates are calling for the law to be tightened by including a concept that makes any sexual act without consent constitute rape. They claim that only a small percentage of rape or attempted rape cases lead to a conviction.
Meanwhile, Macron's comments sparked popular reactions because they completely contradicted the official French position on the issue. France was one of several countries that opposed the inclusion of a definition of rape based on consent in European Union law passed last month. Opposing countries, including Hungary, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, have claimed that rape does not have the necessary cross-border dimension to be considered a crime that comes with common penalties across the bloc.
Macron stated in the video posted on March 8 that he did not believe rape was a crime “European crime” But he wanted to change French law.
“We fought for two years to convince France of the importance of adopting this European definition of rape.” A sexual act without consent is rape, said MEP Nathalie Colin Oesterle (EPP), rapporteur of her group on EU directives, L'Euractiv.
“For months, [French Justice Minister] “Eric Dupond-Moretti has shown us… that incorporating the idea of consent into criminal law would be completely and dangerously counterproductive for women victims, because it would place the burden of proof on them.”
“What an exploitation of the women’s issue, just a few weeks before the European elections!” Colin Oesterle concluded his speech.
A group of French lawmakers are currently preparing a report on whether to add “consent” to the law they will introduce in mid-April, according to media.
Last year, Spain approved new legislation, dubbed the “Only Yes Means Yes” law, under which any non-consensual sex is seen as rape. Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Greece have passed similar laws.
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