France’s National Assembly approved the comprehensive bill against sexual and sexist violence in a first reading on 13 October 2026: 503 votes in favour, none against, and 67 abstentions, nearly all from La France insoumise. “Unanimous” here therefore means without opposing votes, not without abstentions. The bill, PPL 3106, combines criminal-law reforms with a chapter that specifically imposes new obligations on employers to prevent and address sexual and sexist violence at work (VSS au travail).
From committee work to the plenary vote
The text spent months working through parliamentary committee stages. In late September, the special committee dropped the requirement that a victim must first give consent before an employer can open an internal investigation. In early October, lawmakers further strengthened the prevention obligations and introduced a new advisory role for very small businesses (TPE, Très Petites Entreprises). The 13 October vote concluded that first reading: the National Assembly adopted the text in its entirety, including the workplace chapter. 570 lawmakers took part in the vote. This was therefore not an interim amendment but the adoption of the full text. Notably, the Rassemblement national, which had abstained in committee, voted in favour in the plenary vote. As a result, only the La France insoumise group abstained and no group voted against; four LFI members did vote in favour.
What changes for employers
According to the available reports, the text adopted for the workplace includes, among other things, a rule that an internal investigation into sexual or sexist violence can begin without the alleged victim’s prior consent, so that complaints are not left unaddressed. However, the alleged victim must be received and heard before the procedure begins. The consolidated text had not yet been published as of 14 October. Employers will be required to carry out a minimum level of investigative steps, so that reports are not dismissed too quickly. There is also a new advisory role for very small businesses, which often lack their own prevention department or designated contact person. Victims will also gain the right to paid leave; the precise conditions for this were still being adjusted during the plenary debate. After this first reading, the text moves to the Senate, where consideration is expected in January 2027. The goal is final adoption before the end of February 2027, when parliamentary work pauses for the presidential election campaign.
Context
Internationally, violence and harassment at work have been governed since 2019 by ILO Convention 190, the first international labour standard to provide a shared definition of violence and harassment, including gender-based violence, and to state that everyone has the right to a working life free from these problems. France ratified the convention in April 2023, becoming the 27th country worldwide and the 5th within the European Union to do so.
For HSE professionals outside France, this step is relevant because the French law attaches concrete, enforceable employer obligations to a subject that internationally often remains at the level of principles under ILO Convention 190. A statutory minimum level of investigation, an advisory role for small businesses without their own prevention structure, and dropping the consent requirement for internal investigations are choices that could also resurface elsewhere in the debate on prevention policy against bullying, harassment and violence at work, particularly in jurisdictions that have already ratified C190 or are considering doing so.
Source: La proposition de loi sur les violences sexuelles et sexistes adoptée à l’unanimité à l’Assemblée nationale, 15 October 2026
Additional research: Le Monde du Droit (PPL 3106), LCP and Datan (vote results), TPE Actu (employer provisions), the French National Assembly’s legislative page for PPL 3106, and ILO Convention 190 (ilo.org) for context.
