French deputies in the National Assembly unanimously adopted a cross-party bill on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, that explicitly removes any legal basis for the outdated concept of “marital duty” in the French Civil Code, aiming to reinforce the principle of sexual consent within marriage.
The text, sponsored by a group of more than 120 MPs from various political parties, adds a clear clarification to Article 212 of the Civil Code. It states that cohabitation — one of the four existing duties of marriage (fidelity, support, assistance and cohabitation) — does not impose any obligation on spouses to engage in sexual relations.
The bill now moves to the Senate for further examination and approval before it can become law.
While the French Civil Code has never explicitly required sexual relations as a marital obligation, older court decisions occasionally interpreted the duty of cohabitation as implying a “shared bed,” which allowed the notion of a “marital duty” to linger in judicial reasoning and public perception.
A high-profile 2019 divorce case in France drew widespread criticism when a husband successfully obtained a divorce on the grounds that his wife had refused sexual relations for several years. The ruling effectively treated the lack of sex as a breach of marital duties, placing the wife “at fault” in the proceedings.
That decision was later overturned in 2025 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which ruled in favour of the ex-wife. The Strasbourg court held that refusing sexual relations cannot be considered fault in divorce proceedings and that states must protect individual sexual autonomy within marriage.
The new bill directly addresses these concerns. Its supporters argue that the clarification is necessary to align civil law fully with the principle of consent and to prevent any future misinterpretation that could undermine victims of marital rape or coercive sexual pressure.
France strengthened its rape legislation in 2025 by incorporating explicit reference to the absence of consent into the legal definition of rape, following similar reforms in countries such as Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The unanimous vote in the National Assembly — a rare show of cross-party unity on a social issue — reflects growing consensus among French lawmakers that outdated interpretations of marital duties have no place in modern law.
Women's rights organisations, including Osez le Féminisme and the Fondation des Femmes, welcomed the move as an important symbolic and practical step toward eliminating legal ambiguity that could discourage victims of marital sexual violence from coming forward.
The bill’s rapporteur in the Assembly emphasised that the text does not create new obligations but simply makes explicit what should already be obvious in a society that recognises consent as the cornerstone of sexual relations.
If the Senate approves the bill in similar terms, it will be sent to the President of the Republic for promulgation. Legal experts expect the Senate to give the measure a favourable reception, given the overwhelming support in the lower house and the ECHR’s recent guidance.
The reform forms part of a broader European trend to modernise family law and strengthen protections against sexual violence within intimate partnerships. Advocates hope the change will encourage more victims to report marital rape and contribute to shifting cultural attitudes around consent in long-term relationships.
