France Moves to Abolish Legal Concept of Marital ‘Conjugal Duty’

French lawmakers have passed a bill to remove the antiquated legal concept of “conjugal rights,” which implied a duty for spouses to engage in sexual relations. The legislation affirms that a marital “community of living” does not create any obligation for sexual intimacy and explicitly prevents a lack of sexual activity from being cited as a fault in divorce proceedings.

While largely symbolic—following a European Court of Human Rights condemnation of France for permitting such grounds for divorce—the law aims to shift societal attitudes that frame marital consent as permanent or obligatory.

The bill’s sponsor, Green MP Marie-Charlotte Garin, stated, “Marriage cannot be a bubble in which consent to sex is regarded as definitive and for life,” arguing that maintaining such a notion perpetuates spousal domination and abuse.

Historically, France’s civil code outlined marital duties of respect, fidelity, and support without explicitly mentioning sex. However, some judges had controversially interpreted the “community of living” clause to imply sexual obligation, a practice now being rectified.

This reform is part of a series of recent legal changes in France, which now explicitly criminalizes marital rape and defines rape based on clear, affirmative, and revocable consent, rendering silence or passivity irrelevant in determining criminality.