French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to create new measures to punish "verbal violence towards women" in the street, including wolf-whistling.

Speaking at the Elysee Palace, Mr Macron said it was "unacceptable" for France to be "one of those countries where women live in fear".

"Gender-based insults will be punishable by law. Offenders will face a deterrent fine," he said, using "wolf whistling" as an example of the behaviours he seeks to eradicate.

"Many women have said that the first sexist violence they meet is in the street," according to the French President, on the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women.

"And many harassers practice wolf whistling and other types of verbal stigmatisation - and for a long time people reacted with indifference," he added.


"This is unacceptable. Women must feel comfortable in public spaces. Women in the republic must not be afraid to use public spaces. This must be one of the priorities of the police."

:: Violence against women: Time to take action

Image: Mr Macron was joined by comedian and actress Florence Foresti (L) and France's equality minister Marlene Schiappa

Mr Macron has made gender equality a "cultural fight" and one of the main aims of his five-year presidency.

Among the measures which will be "announced in a few weeks' time" is "an offence which will give the police the right to issue a fine if there is a verbal attack on a woman".

The French President justified the planned law by saying that "very often verbal aggression does not lead to women going to police stations" because they fear their claims will be regarded as "unimportant".

"So we must give the law enforcement authorities to act immediately, to correct, to repair and restore the dignity of the victims," he said.

"This will be the purpose of this new offence of verbal aggression."

:: More control over online video, social networks and pornography

In his speech, Mr Macron put an emphasis on the regulation of internet content and a tighter supervision of pornography and video games.

To fight sexual harassment on social networks, the French President wants to train teachers and school staff and create a mobile app for "victims of cyberstalking and cyber violence".

Image: A demonstration denouncing violence against women in Marseille on Saturday

"Legislative changes will be made not only to better prevent but also to prosecute those who act on the Internet to harass," he said.

Currently only a fraction of online videos are controlled by the Superior Council for Audiovisual (CSA) - those which are produced by TV channels.

Mr Macron wants to "extend the powers and the regulation of the CSA" to all online videos for "the protection of the young public".

As for online pornography, Mr Macron said "an awareness campaign for parents will be launched at the next school year" to tackle "stereotypes, domination and violence" in pornography.

:: "On demand" bus stops and age of consent

Other proposals that could be included in the draft law will see the statute of limitation for the rape of minors extended to 30 years from 20 years and moving the age of consent to 15.

Currently France has no minimum age for consent.

Image: A woman holds a sign reading 'Feminicide, machismo that kills' in Paris

The government also wants to create "on-demand" bus stops in the evening for women to get home safely - a service which has already been tested in a few French towns.

Mr Macron also said he wants a 24-hour online service for victims of violence, harassment and sexual discrimination.

During his speech, the French President observed a minute's silence for the 123 women killed by their partners or ex-partners in 2016.