France to clarify in law that marriage does not mean sexual consent
France is moving to formally abolish the concept of “conjugal rights” by making it clear in law that marriage does not entail an obligation to engage in sexual relations.
A bill passed on Wednesday by the National Assembly introduces a clause into the civil code stating that “community of living” does not amount to a duty to have sex. It also prevents the absence of sexual relations from being cited as grounds in fault-based divorce cases. While the change is not expected to significantly affect court rulings, advocates believe it will reinforce efforts to prevent marital rape.
Presenting the bill, Green Party MP Marie-Charlotte Garin argued that allowing the idea of a sexual duty within marriage to persist legitimises a system of domination and abuse. She stressed that marriage should not be treated as a space where lifelong sexual consent is assumed.
Although no French law explicitly refers to a “conjugal duty,” ambiguity has existed for centuries. The civil code currently outlines marital responsibilities as respect, fidelity, support and assistance, alongside a shared life together. The notion of sexual obligation, however, stems from medieval church law rather than modern legal texts.
In some divorce cases, judges have interpreted “community of living” broadly to include sexual relations. This interpretation featured prominently in a 2019 case where a woman was found at fault for refusing sex over several years, leading to a fault-based divorce in favour of her husband.
The woman later appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which last year ruled against France for allowing refusal of sex to justify fault-based divorce. The decision was welcomed by women’s rights advocates and has effectively prevented similar rulings since, making the new legislation largely a legal clarification.
Campaigners argue that the belief that wives are obliged to consent to sex within marriage still exists in parts of society and must be challenged. The 2024 Mazan trial, in which Gisèle Pelicot was repeatedly raped while unconscious after being drugged by her husband, has been cited as a stark example. Some defendants claimed they believed she had consented based on assurances from her husband.
Marital rape has been criminalised in France since 1990, after earlier laws allowed men to claim that marriage implied consent. More recently, the legal definition of rape was expanded to focus explicitly on consent. Under the revised law, rape is defined as any sexual act carried out without “informed, specific, prior and revocable” consent, with silence or lack of resistance no longer considered consent.
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