France is set to enshrine in law the end of so-called conjugal rights – the notion that marriage means a duty to have sex.
A bill approved on Wednesday in the National Assembly adds a clause to the country's civil code to clarify that community of living does not create an obligation for sexual relations.
The proposed law also makes it impossible to use lack of sexual relations as an argument in fault-based divorce.
Though unlikely to have a major impact in the courts, supporters hope the law will help deter marital rape.
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 the bill's sponsor, Green MP Marie-Charlotte Garin.
The law aims to erase an ambiguity that has persisted despite no explicit mention of conjugal duty in any legal text. Currently, the French civil code defines the duties of marriage as respect, fidelity, support and assistance, failing to include sexual rights.
The origins of the notion of conjugal rights trace back to medieval church law, despite judges occasionally interpreting community of living to include sexual relations. A well-known case in 2019 involved a woman whose withholding of sex led to a fault-based divorce, which was later ruled unjust by the European Court of Human Rights.
This new legislation follows France's broader efforts to recognize and define marital rape and seeks to challenge outdated notions of consent within marriage.
