The children’s lyrical rhyme “I see London, I see France … “ has taken on a whole new meaning. On May 4, in a remarkable, if not stunning, turn of events, the Republic of France became the only industrialized nation in the world where it is no longer illegal to engage in sexual harassment.
The French Constitutional Council repealed the country’s sexual harassment law, on the basis that the definition of “harassment” within the law was too broad. Under French law, certain forms of sexual harassment were considered a crime. The ruling came after France’s harassment law was contested for being too broad by a former deputy mayor in the southern Rhone region who was sentenced to three months in prison and a 5,000 euro (approximately $6,600 USD) fine for allegedly sexually harassing three employees.
