In France, rape is illegal, and marital rape is also illegal. In recent years there has been increase of reported rape cases in France. As elsewhere, this crime is severely under-reported.
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Studies
Rape has been documented across French history. Georges Vigarello in his 2011 book writes about the history of rape in France, highlighting events from 16th to 20th century. He states that rape has historically been seen as a form of violence, but not punished as such.
Statistics
In 1971, the rape rate stood at 2.0 per 100,000 people. In 1995, it was 12.5. In 2009, it stood at 16.2.
According to a 2012 report, about 75,000 rapes take place each year. In 2012, there were 1,293 reported rapes in a population of 66 million, and 1,188 rapes in 2013 in a population of 66 million.
Gang rape
According to a 2014 report, about 5,000 to 7,000 of the rapes are gang rapes. In the culture of the banlieues, gang-rapes are referred to as tournantes, or "pass-arounds"). One of the first people to bring public attention to the culture of gang rape was Samira Bellil, who published a book called Dans l'enfer des tournantes ("In Gang Rape Hell").
In October 2012, two girls in Fontenay-sous-Bois on the outskirts of Paris reported experiencing daily gang rapes in the high-rise tower blocks, sometimes by scores of boys. One witness described 50 boys "queuing" to rape her.