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France is set to formally abolish the long-standing notion of “conjugal rights” by amending its civil code to make clear that marriage does not impose a duty to engage in sexual relations.
The bill, approved by lawmakers in the National Assembly, states explicitly that living together as a married couple does not create an obligation to have sex and bars the absence of sexual relations from being cited in fault-based divorce cases.
Although the concept of conjugal duty has never been written into French law, courts have at times interpreted the requirement of a “community of living” to include sexual relations. This interpretation was highlighted in a 2019 case in which a woman was blamed in a fault-based divorce for refusing sex. However, the European Court of Human Rights later ruled that such reasoning violated human rights, effectively preventing similar decisions in the future.
Supporters of the new law say it is primarily a clarifying measure but an important symbolic step in challenging persistent social attitudes that treat sexual consent within marriage as automatic or permanent. Green MP Marie-Charlotte Garin, who sponsored the bill, said marriage should never be seen as blanket consent to sex.
The reform also aligns with recent changes to France’s rape laws, which now define rape as any sexual act carried out without explicit consent.
Campaigners believe the legal clarification will help reinforce the message that consent must be freely given, even within marriage, and contribute to the broader fight against sexual violence.
Source: 3news
