French government schedules debate on bill against violence toward women and children for September or October

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced June 24 that a comprehensive bill against violence targeting women and children will be debated in September or October. Lecornu made the statement before the Assemblée Nationale in response to a question from Socialist group leader Boris Vallaud. He said the government would allocate time before the budget bill at the beginning of October.

The bill is backed by more than 150 advocacy groups and by nearly as many lawmakers from across the political spectrum except the far-right Rassemblement National, the conservative Union des Droites pour la République, and the radical left-wing La France Insoumise.

The announcement came one day after preliminary inspection findings detailed failures by the justice system in handling the Lyhanna case. Assemblée Nationale president Yaël Braun-Pivet has pushed since the outset to place the measure on the September agenda.

Le Monde reported that the death of the 11-year-old has been described as a legislative turning point.