PARIS, France — France is set to enshrine in law the end of so-called “conjugal rights” – the outdated notion that marriage creates a duty to have sex. The National Assembly approved a bill on Wednesday adding a clause to the civil code clarifying that “community of living” does not imply any “obligation for sexual relations.”
The proposed legislation also prevents a lack of sexual relations from being used as grounds in fault-based divorce cases. While the change is unlikely to have a major impact in courts, supporters say it will help deter marital rape and reinforce the principle of consent.
“By allowing such a right or duty to persist, we are collectively giving our approval to a system of domination and predation by husband on wife,” said Green MP Marie-Charlotte Garin, the bill’s sponsor. “Marriage cannot be a bubble in which consent to sex is regarded as definitive and for life.”
Currently, the French civil code defines marriage duties as “respect, fidelity, support and assistance” and notes that couples commit to a “community of living,” but it does not mention sexual obligations.
Historically, however, judges have sometimes interpreted “community of living” to imply a conjugal duty, notably in a 2019 case where a woman faced a fault-based divorce for withholding sex. The European Court of Human Rights later condemned France for this interpretation.
Campaigners argue the law is needed to confront societal assumptions that wives have a sexual duty. The 2024 Mazan trial, in which Gisèle Pelicot was drugged and repeatedly raped by men invited by her husband, highlighted the dangers of such outdated notions. Defendants cited the husband’s claims of consent, underscoring persistent cultural assumptions about marital sex.
France has progressively strengthened consent laws: marital rape has been criminalized since 1990, and as of November last year, the legal definition of rape now includes any sexual act carried out without “informed, specific, anterior and revocable” consent. Silence or absence of reaction no longer implies consent.
The new legislation codifies this principle and signals a broader societal shift, ensuring that marriage cannot be used to justify sexual coercion.
