News Digest: France Becomes First Country to Add Abortion Rights to Constitution

We’ve been following the vote to protect a woman’s right to an abortion in the French constitution over the past few weeks. Yesterday (Monday, March 5th), France made history by becoming the first country to enshrine abortion in the constitution as a “guaranteed freedom” for all women – a move that has garnered wide support throughout France.

The historic vote took place at the Palace of Versailles, with 780 out of 925 MPs and senators voting in support of the amendment – an overwhelming majority. Crowds of supporters gathered in Paris to celebrate the vote, and the Eiffel Tower was lit up with various messages of solidarity, including “Mon Corps, Mon Choix” (My Body, My Choice), to mark the monumental event. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said: “Above all, we’re sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you.”

While some other countries do have similar protections in their constitution that protect “reproductive rights” or the “right to have children,” what makes France’s move so significant is that it explicitly states women’s “guaranteed freedom” to choose abortion and have it fully funded by state healthcare. This will make it extremely difficult for future governments to drastically modify laws concerning women accessing abortion up to 14 weeks. As Green party senator Mélanie Vogel put it: “France is showing the right to abortion is no longer an option; it’s a condition of our democracy.”

Unlike in the United States, where abortion is a highly political and divisive issue, this is not the case in France, and the French public has shown overwhelming support for the constitutional change. A public poll by IFOP showed that some 85% of the public supported the amendment of the constitution, with most of the population considering abortion as a women’s right and basic public health service. A recent survey showed France to have one of the highest supports for legal abortion in the world, and it’s been legal in the country since 1975.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a ceremony will take place this Friday, March 8th – International Women’s Day – at midday in Place Vendôme, Paris, to mark the new clause being added to the constitution.

Despite multiple concessions made by the French government to appease the agricultural workers behind the last month’s wave of farmer’s protests and road blockades, French farmers’ union FNSEA has warned that they: “are not done with this yet.”

The concessions include the payment of the promised European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aid by next week (March 15th), the rejection of the proposed trade agreement between the EU and MERCOSUR (South American) countries, putting the Ecophyto pesticide reduction scheme on hold, and a strengthening of EGalim pricing laws to help protect agricultural incomes.

However, the unions are still saying that this is not enough and have threatened further strike action over the coming weeks. We don’t currently have more information regarding if and when this will affect travel, but we’ll keep you updated.

The weather seems to be easing off this week, but those travelling in the south should remain vigilant and keep an eye on the local forecast. As of today (Tuesday), there is still an orange warning for floods in the Charente-Maritime region.