France sets legal age of sexual consent

Paris, March 06: The French government is proposing a law that would say anyone under 15 cannot consent to sex, after widespread shock at two cases involving 11-year-old girls.

Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa said the "government has decided to set the age at 15," after consultations with the public and an expert panel, according to the sources.

Any sexual act by an adult with a child younger than 15 can be prosecuted as a sexual offence under current French law.

Speaking previously Schiappa said: "The law will mean that 'below a certain age, there can be no debate, ever, on the sexual consent of a child, and that any child below a certain age would automatically be considered as raped or sexually assaulted'."