Men who wolf whistle or are aggressively lecherous to women on French streets face fines under a new law against sexism and sexual abuse to be passed next year.

Gender equality minister Marlene Schiappa, 34, a feminist and writer, said workshops would be held across France to discuss the bill, as French president Emmanuel Macron on Sunday vowed to send police to enforce the new law

"It's completely necessary because at the moment street harassment is not defined in the law," Ms Schiappa told RTL radio.

"The idea is that society as a whole redefines what is acceptable or not."

Here in Britain, the topic of wolf whistling is a familiar tune. Last year, Nottinghamshire police moved to make misogyny a crime – and included cat calls in its definition. The year before, a building firm was investigated by police after a young woman complained about “lecherous” men wolf-whistling at her in the street.