While the age of consent was previously 15, prosecutors in France were required to prove that sex was consensual in order to obtain a conviction for rape.
“This is a historic law for our children and our society,” Justice Secretary Eric Dupond-Moretti told the National Assembly.
“No adult aggressor can claim the consent of a minor under the age of 15.”
The vote for the bill was unanimous at last reading, the Assembly said on Twitter.
Some lawmakers were concerned that an age of consent under which sex automatically constitutes rape could criminalize a consensual sexual relationship between a minor and a person only a few years older.
The result is a “Romeo and Juliet” clause that allows sexual relations between a minor and a person up to five years older. The clause does not apply in case of sexual assault.
In a country that has long nurtured its self-image as a land of seduction and romance, sexual abuse of women and children went unnoticed or unreported in the higher echelons of power and celebrity circles for years.
But much has been sought for the soul in recent years.
The #MeToo movement that went around the world after countless women accused American film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault in 2017 turned out to be a turning point in France. Likewise, the fall from grace in 2020 of a French writer who had written openly about his pedophilia.
France had already tightened its sex crime laws in 2018 when it banned sexual harassment on the street, facing cat callers and aggressively lusty individuals with potential fines on the spot.