The legislation is being piloted by 34-year-old Marlene Schiappa (pictured), a feminist and early supporter of French President Emmanuel Macron

Men will be fined on the spot for wolf-whistling women on French streets, the country's women's minister has said.

Marlene Schiappa, 34, a feminist and early supporter of French President Emmanuel Macron, is trying to tackle sexist male attitudes in public spaces with new legislation currently being piloted.

Men will be fined for lecherous, aggressive behaviour or anything deemed harassment under the policy.

But a definition of harassment and the amount of money harassers will be fined have yet to be decided upon.

'It's completely necessary because at the moment street harassment is not defined in the law,' she told RTL radio today in a major interview to outline the law, which is to be voted on next year.

The escalating scandal over Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual assaults on a string of actresses has rekindled debate on sexual harassment and predation in France.

The 'MeToo' hashtag encouraging women to share their experiences is among the top 10 trends on French Twitter, and a new one has emerged - #balancetonporc ('Expose the Pig') - to report sexual harassment in the workplace.

Asked about the difficulty of drawing a line between harassment and flirtation, Schiappa replied: 'We know very well at what point we start feeling intimidated, unsafe or harassed in the street.'

She cited examples such as when a man invades a woman's personal space - 'by talking to you 10, 20 centimetres from your face' - or follows a woman for several blocks, or 'asks for your number 17 times.'

A cross-party taskforce composed of five MPs has been asked to work with police and magistrates to come up with a definition of harassment that can be enforced by officers on the streets.

'The level of the fine is part of our discussions,' Schiappa said, adding that neighbourhood police would act on complaints brought to their attention by women.

A cross-party taskforce composed of five MPs has been asked to work with police and magistrates to come up with a definition of harassment that can be enforced by officers on the streets. Pictured: President Emmanuel Macron

'The symbolic value of laws that outlaw street harassment is very great,' she said.

The legislation will also include provisions such as lengthening the amount of time women have to lodge sexual assault complaints dating from their childhood and toughening laws on sex with minors.

Raphaelle Remy-Leleu of the feminist organisation Osez le Feminisme (Dare to Be Feminist) said: 'I hope that social tolerance will decrease after people become more aware' of sexual harassment.

'But there's a lot of work to be done.'