France wants to set 15 as minimum age for sexual consent

PARIS – 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. Earlier, officials had discussed setting it at 13. President Emmanuel Macron, among others, argued for it to be older.

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