Content warning: this Zedline contains mentions of rape and sexual assault.
France has strengthened its age of consent laws to categorise sex with individuals under 15 as rape.
15 was previously the age of consent, but up until now, a conviction of rape or sexual assault required prosecutors to prove that a minor was forced, threatened or tricked into having sex with an adult.
This reform provides that minors under 15 cannot consent to sex, with an exception for sexual relations between a minor and an individual up to five years older.