France enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution on Monday, a historic move welcomed by women’s rights groups but sharply criticized by anti-abortion groups. In a special joint vote of the two houses of parliament, held under the gilded ceilings of Versailles Palace just outside Paris, MPs and senators overwhelmingly supported the move, 780 votes to 72.
Abortion rights activists gathered in central Paris to cheer and applaud as the Eiffel Tower scintillated in the background and displayed the message “MyBodyMyChoice” as the vote results were announced on a giant screen.
Abortion rights are more widely accepted in France than in the United States and many other countries, with polls indicating that approximately 80% of French citizens support legal abortion.
“We’re sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you, and no one else can decide for you,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told lawmakers ahead of the vote.
Women have had a legal right to abortion in France since a 1974 law, which was heavily criticized at the time.
However, the United States Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision, which recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion, prompted activists to urge France to become the first country to explicitly protect the right in its basic law.
“The right to abortion has retreated in the United States. And so nothing allowed us to believe that France was immune to this risk,” said Laura Slimani of the Fondation des Femmes rights group.
“There’s a lot of emotion, both as a feminist activist and as a woman,” she said.
Monday’s vote confirmed Article 34 of the French constitution, which states that “the law determines the conditions under which a woman has the guaranteed right to have an abortion.”
“France is at the forefront,” said Yael Braun-Pivet, head of the lower house of parliament for French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party.
Moriniere stated that there was no need to include the right to abortion in the constitution
However, the move drew criticism. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen claimed Macron was using it to score political points, citing the country’s strong support for abortion rights.
“We will vote to include it in the Constitution because we have no problem with that,” Le Pen told reporters ahead of the Versailles vote, adding that it was an exaggeration to call it a historic step because, she said, “no one is putting the right to abortion at risk in France.”
Pascale Moriniere, president of the Association of Catholic Families, described the move as a defeat for anti-abortion campaigners.
“It’s (also) a defeat for women,” she went on to say, “and, of course, for all the children who cannot see the day.”
Moriniere stated that there was no need to include the right to abortion in the constitution.
“We imported a debate that is not French since the United States was the first to remove that from law with the repeal of Roe v. Wade,” she said. “There was an effect of panic from feminist movements, which wished to engrave this on the marble of the constitution.”