On 13 October 2026, French MPs passed the comprehensive bill against sexual and gender-based violence, known in France as the loi intégrale, by 503 votes to none, with 67 abstentions. The most ambitious text on the subject in years now goes to the Senate.
The vote came in the late afternoon, after nearly two weeks of debate in the chamber that began on 1 October. Every group voted in favour except La France insoumise: 66 of its MPs abstained, along with one member of the UDR group. No one voted against.
A bill that nearly doubled in size
When it was introduced in November 2025, the bill contained 78 measures. It now has 133. Its lead rapporteur, the Socialist MP Céline Thiébault-Martinez, drafted the original text. The work was split between rapporteurs from several groups: the Green MP Marie-Charlotte Garin handled the articles on criminal investigation, the courts and support for victims, while other MPs took on sentencing and child protection.
The word “comprehensive” reflects the aim: to deal with violence from prevention through investigation and punishment to recovery, instead of amending the criminal code one article at a time.
What the law contains
Several measures address how complaints are handled, a long-standing grievance among victims’ groups.
- A minimum standard of investigation. After a complaint of rape or sexual assault, investigators have at most one year to interview the victim and the suspect, carry out searches and look for other possible victims.
- Specialist police units with dedicated authorisation, and specialist courts.
- Incest as a crime in its own right. A new chapter of the criminal code makes incest a separate offence instead of an aggravating circumstance of rape, and extends it to first cousins.
- A compulsory interview at school to detect abuse, adopted by 260 votes with none against. It will become annual from 2032, from nursery school to the final year of secondary school. Until then, four interviews are planned over a pupil’s schooling.
- A care pathway for child victims.
- Leave for victims of at least ten days without loss of pay. Rejected by a single vote on 9 October, the measure was restored on the day of the final vote, by 213 votes to 111.
What was taken out
The debates also cut parts of the bill. Article 62, which would have barred the deportation of a foreign national who had filed a complaint of sexual violence, was removed by 121 votes to 77. That was the main reason for La France insoumise’s abstention; its MP Élise Leboucher said the law now had little more than its name. A ban on practising for convicted health professionals was also dropped at the government’s request.
The far-right Rassemblement national, which had abstained in committee, voted for the bill. Its spokesman Thomas Ménagé nevertheless said the party would refer the law to the Constitutional Council if the leave for victims survives in the final version.
The question of money
Article 68 sets a target of €3 billion a year until 2032, double the €1.5 billion estimated for the original bill. That money still depends on future budget laws: the bill itself does not guarantee it. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said he is open to extra funding, without giving a figure.
Next steps in the Senate
The Senate is due to examine the bill from January 2027, and the government would like to bring that forward. A joint committee of MPs and senators will then try to agree a final text. The stated aim is final adoption by the end of February 2027, before Parliament breaks for the presidential campaign.
For the organisations that support survivors, the vote of 13 October is a milestone. Whether the specialist units, the school interviews and the leave for victims survive the Senate, and then the budget, is the next test.
