Global Progress Towards Ending the Sexual Exploitation of Children
A global problem requires truly global solutions to address the sexual exploitation of children.
Indicators
Age of Consent
No
The age of sexual consent is 15 years for both girls and boys. The national legislation provides for a five years close-in-age exemption.
Analysis of country legislation on age of sexual consent, 2024
Extraterritoriality & Extradition
Partial
French law provides for active and passive extraterritorial jurisdiction over offenses committed outside France. Double criminality is not required for proceeding with active extraterritorial jurisdiction for SEC related offences nor for proceeding with passive extraterritorial jurisdiction over offences punishable by custodial sentences committed against French nationals. Universal jurisdiction is provided over specified offences (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity) if the person habitually resides in France. However, double criminality is required.
The extradition of French nationals is not permitted outside the EU and extradition is not granted when the offences were committed in French territory. Extraditable offences are all acts punishable by criminal penalties by the law of the requesting State; and acts punishable by correctional penalties by the law of the requesting State, when the maximum penalty of imprisonment incurred, under the terms of French law, is two or more years, or, in the case of a convicted person, when the sentence pronounced by the court of the requesting State is two or more months' imprisonment (double criminality).
SEC offences are referred to as extraditable under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) framework within the EU without requiring double criminality if the act is punishable by a maximum period of at least three years of imprisonment in the requesting State.
Criminal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1994 (status as of 2023), 1957 (status as of 2023)
CSAM Definition
Not Yet Assessed
Background Check Required
Not Yet Assessed
National Commitments
Not Yet Assessed
Child Advocacy Centers
Not Yet Assessed
SEC Police Unit
Not Yet Assessed
Protection Standards Travel and Tourism
Not Yet Assessed
Public SEC Case Data
Not Yet Assessed
Age of Consent Law is Appropriate
The age of sexual consent for both males and females is 18 and a close in age exemption (up to 3 years) is provided for consensual sexual relationships between adolescents.
The age of sexual consent is the legally defined age at which a person is considered mature enough to agree to sexual activity. The age of sexual consent varies across jurisdictions around the world and there is no international legal instrument establishing it, however various forms of advocacy have encouraged States to establish a minimum age under which engaging in sexual contact is considered a criminal offence. This is intended to prevent sexual contact with children and to prevent argument that the child consented as a defence.
Often national provisions related to the age of sexual consent include an exception, known as a close-in-age exemption, making consensual sexual activities between young people lawful if the partners are of similar ages and the age difference is not higher than a certain number of years.
To ensure that cases of child sexual exploitation do not go unpunished, ECPAT advocates for the age of sexual consent to be set at 18 for both males and females with a close-in-age exemption of 2-3 years provided in order to ensure young people are not penalised for consensual sexual acts with peers. The age from which the exemption applies should be established by States but may begin for young people somewhere between 12 and 16 years of age.
Yes The national legislation explicitly indicates that the age of sexual consent unequivocally is 18 for both males and females, with a close-in-age exemption for sexual acts between peers (of up to 3 years) is provided by law.