France is taking a decisive step to redefine the legal meaning of marriage by formally rejecting any interpretation that spouses owe each other sexual relations.
Lawmakers have approved a bill clarifying that a “community of living” between married partners does not imply an obligation to have sex, and that lack of sexual activity cannot be used as grounds in fault-based divorce cases.
Supporters of the legislation say the move is about more than legal technicalities. “This bill sends a clear message, marriage does not cancel the right to say no,” one lawmaker said during parliamentary debates, describing the reform as a necessary correction to outdated thinking.
Although the change is largely symbolic following a European Court of Human Rights ruling that criticised France for allowing refusal of sex to justify divorce its backers believe symbolism matters.
“The law must reflect the reality that consent is ongoing and revocable,” Green MP Marie-Charlotte Garin, who sponsored the bill. “Marriage cannot be a bubble in which consent to sex is regarded as definitive and for life.”
For years, the French civil code has required mutual respect, fidelity, support and assistance between spouses, but it never explicitly mentioned sexual relations. Despite this, judges sometimes interpreted the idea of “community of living” to include sexual activity.
leading to controversial rulings. In a widely criticised 2019 case, a woman was penalised in divorce proceedings for refusing sex, a decision later overturned after intervention by the European Court of Human Rights.
Garin warned that allowing such interpretations to persist “normalises domination and creates a breeding ground for abuse,” adding that the new law aims to protect bodily autonomy within marriage.
The reform comes amid broader changes in French sexual-violence legislation. Marital rape has been explicitly criminalised, and the legal definition of rape has been expanded to cover acts carried out without “informed, specific, prior and revocable” consent. Under the updated framework, silence or lack of resistance can no longer be interpreted as consent.
Advocates say the measure reinforces a simple but powerful principle, marriage does not override personal autonomy. As one supporter put it, “Being married should never mean surrendering control over your own body.”