The #MeToo movement in the French army: reports of sexual violence have increased fivefold

ParisWhen MP Laetitia Saint-Paul read an article published in February of last year by a regional newspaper in Angers, Le Courrier del OuestRegarding the sexual assaults suffered by a young female soldier, she was speechless. Another soldier had subjected her to some sixty sexual assaults over several months, while both were participating in different naval missions in French waters. The soldier, who confessed to the acts, was sentenced by a military court to only 10 days of arrest and a fine of 600 euros. Suffering from post-traumatic stress, she had to leave the army.

The victim of the assaults, Manon Dubois, had the courage to make her case public. And, without realizing it, she spurred the #MeToo movement within the French army. Credit also goes to the member of parliament, a career soldier and member of the centrist Horizons party: Saint-Paul brought the issue into the political arena and demanded that the Minister of Defense—at the time Sébestien Lecornu, the current Prime Minister—take measures to curb sexism and sexual violence in the military.

In the months following the publication of the news, dozens of female military personnel reported being victims of abuse and sexual assault. "The testimonies we received in the spring of 2024 led us to believe, empirically, that the problem was truly systemic," Saint-Paul explained to the ARA.

The victims, sidelined

From that moment on, various media outlets published reports from female military personnel. In May 2024, Le Monde It echoed the #MeToo movement within the army and denounced the cases of some victims who had not only been discharged from service after reporting rape and abuse, but had also received military punishment. These sanctions served to deter other victims from reporting.

All the accounts of the women who had suffered sexual assault had something in common: the perpetrators had only been tried in military courts and, in most cases, convicted. In contrast, the victims usually faced contempt from their superiors and were forced to transfer. Many, morally defeated and with psychological wounds caused by the assaults, left the army.

The Ministry of Defense took action: it commissioned a report, and from the document's conclusions emerged a program to combat sexual violence. "It's a turning point. There is a before and after this report," Sébastien Lecornu promised at the time. Since then, the number of complaints and cases reaching the ordinary courts has multiplied. While only 49 abuses were reported in 2023, that number rose to 225 in 2024. "It's not the number of incidents that has increased, but the number of complaints," the congresswoman maintains.

The Ministry of Defense, however, has not provided data on convictions or on the number of military personnel dismissed from the army. When questioned by the ARA, the ministry maintains that it is "committed" to combating sexual violence in the armed forces and asserts that it "firmly condemns all types of inappropriate behavior, without tolerating any impunity."

Breaking the Silence

Ten years before the #MeToo movement in the army, a book written by two French journalists, Leila Miñano and Julia Pascual, The invisible warThe book denounced the code of silence that prevailed in the French army regarding sexual violence. Both authors had spent two years investigating sexual abuse in the armed forces and gave voice to female soldiers who had been victims. The book brought to the forefront a previously taboo subject. "Sexual violence in the army is systemic," Miñano asserts in a conversation with ARA. Following the book's publication, the Ministry of Defense launched the Themis program to collect testimonies from victims of assault, sexual abuse, harassment, and sexist discrimination. However, the program, in which all those responsible were military personnel, did not fully function, and very few complaints were filed. Miñano believes that, between the book's publication in 2014 and today, some progress has been made in improving the handling of complaints from female soldiers, but the French journalist emphasizes that "something very important that has happened is that there is a new generation of women in the army who dare to speak out." However, she asserts that cases in which perpetrators are tried and expelled from the army are still very few, while victims are sidelined. "That, eleven years later, is still happening," she maintains.

Women, a clear minority

In the French army, women make up 17.3%. They are a clear minority—moreover, the majority of female soldiers are concentrated in the medical branch—but the percentage is one of the highest in European militaries. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, It was announced a few days ago that military service would be reinstated starting in the summer of 2026.Unlike what ceased to exist almost three decades ago, this program will now be voluntary and open to women between the ages of 18 and 25. Recent cases of sexual violence could discourage young women. According to MP and military officer Laetitia Saint-Paul, there are no studies indicating whether sexism and sexual abuse in the army hinder women's entry into the military, but she emphasizes that "we have received testimonies from young recruits who left military institutions just weeks after joining, unable to cope." Saint-Paul believes it is crucial "that future military commanders are properly trained" to prevent sexual violence. Sources at the Ministry of Defense assure that they will apply "zero tolerance" to sexual abuse in military service.