French Assembly passes comprehensive law against sexual and sexist violence

The French National Assembly adopted a sweeping law targeting sexual and sexist violence on October 13, 2026, by a vote of 503 to zero. Only lawmakers from La France Insoumise abstained. The legislation was sponsored by eight parliamentary groups ranging from Communists to the conservative Les Républicains.

A central measure requires police to perform a minimum set of investigative steps — including interviewing the victim and suspect, preserving evidence, and searching for other victims — within one year to prevent cases from being dropped without follow-up. The law also creates specialized units within the judicial police, though a Tuesday vote removed a provision that would have voided procedures if those units were not used.

For judicial handling, the text establishes specialized judges and prosecutors in each tribunal for misdemeanor cases, modeled on the Spanish system. Rapes will continue to be tried in departmental criminal courts composed of professional magistrates, while a new specialized assize court will hear aggravated rapes carrying sentences of 20 years or more, such as the Mazan and Le Scouarnec cases.

Starting in 2032, annual interviews to detect violence will become mandatory for all students from kindergarten through high school. A phased rollout will require four mandatory interviews during a pupil's schooling before that date. The bill also introduces measures to combat incest, though the text was cut off before details were provided.