Paris (AFP)

The deputies set at 15 years the threshold of "non-consent" for minors victims of sexual acts by adults, Wednesday during work in committee on a bill aimed at strengthening protection against these abuses.

This text from the Senate will be examined in the hemicycle of the National Assembly from March 15.

Under the age of 15, the principle of non-consent of a young person will be the rule, "even if these acts have not been imposed on him by violence, coercion, threat or surprise", according to a government amendment adopted by the commission of the Laws of the Assembly.

Thus, "no adult can avail themselves of the consent" of a minor under 15, summed up the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti.

The deputies made it clear in the text that "oral genital acts" were also included in the definition of rape, in order to clarify the case law.

However, these provisions only apply when "the age difference between the author and the minor is at least five years".

This drafting, nicknamed "Romeo and Juliet clause", aims not to "criminalize adolescent love affairs" freely consented, explained the Minister of Justice.

The age threshold is raised to 18 in the event of "incestuous" acts - a term that parliamentarians also insisted on including as such instead of an allusive initial wording.

- "extended prescription" -

The government also passed an amendment instituting a mechanism of "extended statute of limitations", or "sliding statute of limitations", for rapes committed against minors.

The statute of limitations - currently 30 years from the date of the victim's majority - would be extended in the event of a new rape of another minor, until the statute of limitations for the last crime.

This principle would also be applied to sexual offenses against minors.

Many associations demand that these acts be imprescriptible, but the government considers in particular that this should continue to be reserved for crimes against humanity, such as genocide.

This bill aiming to "protect young minors from sexual crimes" - its official title - has already been adopted at first reading by the Senate unanimously, but with an age threshold set at 13 years.

The National Assembly, for its part, unanimously voted on February 18 for another text on the protection of minors against sexual abuse.

However, the government has chosen to continue the legislative procedure on the basis of the bill from the upper house, even if it means amending it in depth, arguing that it would make it possible to legislate more quickly.

President Emmanuel Macron has promised a strengthening of the law in the face of these acts, in a context of strong repercussions in the opinion of cases of abuse or rape of minors and of incest.

"There is an evolution of society, and there will soon be an evolution of our law" to "pose a clear prohibition" in the face of these acts, affirmed the rapporteur of the text to the Assembly, Alexandra Louis (LREM).

© 2021 AFP