PARIS (Reuters) – France will toughen its laws against incest, President Emmanuel Macron said in a series of tweets on Saturday after the publication of a book accusing a leading French political commentator of abusing his stepson, generating outrage throughout the country.
Macron said in his Twitter account that France needs to adapt its laws to better protect children from sexual violence and he asked the Minister of Justice to chair a consultation with a view to making legislative proposals quickly.
“We will go after the attackers,” said Macron.
Macron said France has already increased the statute of limitations on incest to 30 years, counting from the victim’s legal age, and has increased control over people working with children, but said much more needs to be done.
He said that, as part of the current routine medical examinations for children, France will introduce sessions on incest in primary and secondary schools, in order to give children the opportunity to talk about it.
He also said that better psychological assistance for incest victims would be made available and reimbursed by social security.
In recent weeks, hundreds of people have turned to social media to tell their stories of incest after the book was published, accusing French professor and constitutional expert Olivier Duhamel of abusing his stepson.
The book was written by Duhamel’s stepdaughter, Camille Kouchner, daughter of the former foreign minister and founder of the Médecins Sans Frontières NGO Bernard Kouchner.
Duhamel resigned earlier this month from supervising Sciences Po, one of the best universities in France, after the book was published.
“Being the target of personal attacks and wanting to preserve the institutions in which I work, I ended my duties,” he said on Twitter on January 4.
Neither Duhamel nor his lawyer commented on allegations dating back to the 1980s.
The Minister of Higher Education, Frederique Vidal, ordered an inspection at Sciences Po to determine the responsibilities and possible failures.
(Reporting by Geert De Clercq and John Irish; Editing by David Holmes)