French Lawmakers Move to End ‘Marital Duty’ Concept in Marriage Law

F French lawmakers on Wednesday, January 28, unanimously approved a bill aimed at ending the long-standing notion of “marital duty,” following criticism from women’s rights groups who argue that the concept undermines sexual consent and enables marital rape.

The bill, backed by more than 120 members of parliament in the lower house, the National Assembly, seeks to clarify the civil code by stating that cohabitation does not create any obligation for spouses to engage in sexual relations.

“Cohabitation does not imply sexual relations between spouses,” the proposed text clarifies, effectively rejecting the idea that marriage entails a sexual obligation.

The cross-party legislation will now proceed to the Senate, where it must be approved before becoming law.

Under France’s civil code, marriage carries four formal duties — fidelity, support, assistance and cohabitation — but it does not explicitly mention sexual relations. However, older court rulings have at times interpreted cohabitation as implying a “shared bed,” allowing the idea of a so-called marital duty to persist in legal practice.

That interpretation came under renewed scrutiny after a 2019 case, in which a man was granted a divorce on the grounds that his wife had stopped having sex with him.

Last year, Europe’s top human rights court ruled in favour of the woman, stating that a wife who refuses to have sex with her husband should not be considered “at fault” during divorce proceedings.

France has also taken broader steps to strengthen protections around sexual consent. In 2024, the country adopted the principle of consent into its legal definition of rape, aligning with reforms already implemented in countries such as Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Women’s rights advocates have welcomed the bill, describing it as a necessary step toward ensuring that marriage cannot be used to justify sexual coercion under French law.