A school teacher in France was handed a suspended sentence for sleeping with a 14-year-old pupil yesterday as the country grapples with changing the rules on underage sex.

The relatively lenient verdict - the prosecutor had asked for a prison term of five years in prison, two suspended - came two days after President Emmanuel Macron called for adult sex with a child under 15 to be considered rape.

Lawyers for the girl's family had called for more time for a fresh investigation, saying that police had failed to grasp the gravity of the case, treating it as a "simple love affair".

The maths teacher and the pupil, who was in his class last year, started chatting on Instagram on February before beginning a relationship in June.

The girl insisted the pair were in love but when the stepfather found out how old her "boyfriend" was, he dragged the teacher to the police station and the family accused him of being a sexual predator.

The teacher was found guilty of "molestation" but cleared of "corruption of a minor". He was placed on probation for two years, ordered to receive counselling and banned from working with minors or contacting the girl.