Criminal Law

The limitation period for rape in France is 20 years from the events for an adult victim, 30 years after turning 18 for a minor. How to count, older laws, late complaints, compensation and legal aid.

After a gang rape, the first hours matter: get somewhere safe, get medical care, keep the evidence. Free helplines, the complaint, a 20-year sentence, a lawyer and legal aid without a means test.

Marital rape is a crime in France: marriage never counts as consent. First steps, free helplines, the complaint, a protection order within 24 hours or six days, a twenty-year sentence and legal aid with no means test.

Drug-facilitated assault: a blackout, feeling ill after one drink? Get samples taken fast, blood, urine then hair. Tests covered without a complaint in three regions since 2026, the complaint, sentences and a lawyer.

Sextortion in France: do not pay, stop replying, keep the evidence. Up to seven years and €100,000 when online blackmail uses sexual images, online complaint on THESEE, the 3018 helpline, removal of content and what a lawyer does.

Revenge porn in France: even if you sent the images yourself, sharing them without your consent carries two years in prison. Evidence, platform takedown, PHAROS, 3018, urgent court orders and the complaint, step by step.

Online harassment in France: keep evidence, report the content, file a complaint. Up to two years in prison when harassment happens online, only three months to act against a public insult, the 3018 helpline and what a lawyer does.

A voluntary interview in France: a police summons obliges you to attend, but you may leave at any time, stay silent and bring a lawyer. Your rights under Article 61-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, how to prepare and what may follow.

A romance scam often leaves shame and debts behind. Stop sending money, alert your bank, keep the evidence and report the fraud: here are the steps, the deadlines and the chances of getting the money back.

Parental liability applies automatically in France when a minor causes damage, including at a protest. Article 1242 of the Civil Code rewritten in 2025, separated parents, insurance, victims, the State and criminal risks.

A relative in police custody in France, and the police tell you nothing? For an adult, the law leaves it to them to have family told, within three hours, unless the prosecutor delays it. How to find where they are held, appoint a lawyer, and what changes for a minor.

Your child is a minor arrested at a protest? Holding from age 10, police custody from 13, a mandatory lawyer, parents informed, a doctor, then the children's judge: what the French juvenile criminal justice code provides.

Police custody in France after a protest: 24 hours, renewable once by the prosecutor, a lawyer from the first hour, a doctor, the right to silence and to have a relative told. What the Code of Criminal Procedure says, from arrest to release.

Filming the police remains a right in France, and so does sharing the footage, within limits. What became of Article 24 of the Global Security law, the offence of hiding your face at a protest, and what can happen to your phone.

The right to protest is guaranteed in France, but regulated: notice to the town hall or prefecture 3 to 15 clear days ahead, possible bans, forbidden items, unlawful assembly and warnings. What organisers and marchers risk.

Vandalism at a protest in France costs far more than a fine: up to 7 years in prison when committed as a group with a hidden face, 10 years for arson, plus paying for the damage. Penal Code penalties, graffiti, group offences and fast-track trials.

A conviction after a protest goes on your criminal record in France, but not on every extract. Bulletins 1, 2 and 3, exclusion at the hearing, removal, rehabilitation, effects on studies, exams, jobs and the case of minors.

A protest fine in France costs €135, then €375 once increased. You have 45 days to pay or challenge it before the public prosecutor's officer, often online on the ANTAI website. Grounds, evidence and deadlines.