New Sex Education Curriculum to Launch in France
Starting in September, students across France will be introduced to a significant new subject: sex education, encompassing topics such as gender stereotypes and the concept of consent. This initiative comes nearly 25 years after the French government enacted a law mandating comprehensive sex education for all students, a law that remained largely unimplemented until now.
The French Ministry of Education has finally developed and approved an official curriculum for sex education classes, alongside a structured plan for teacher training and the creation of appropriate course materials. “We have been waiting 25 years for this,” remarked Sarah Durocher, the president of Le Planning Familial, which is the French counterpart to Planned Parenthood. This organization is one of three nonprofits that filed a lawsuit against the government in 2023, challenging its failure to enact its own law regarding sex education.
While the lawsuit is still pending in court, the government has proceeded with implementing the new curriculum despite vocal opposition from critics. Detractors have labeled the initiative as “ideological brainwashing” and expressed concerns about its potential negative effects on children’s development. More than 100 senators from the conservative party, Les Républicains, signed an opinion piece published in Le Figaro, denouncing the program for its perceived “woke ideology” and demanding the removal of any references to “gender identity.”
In response to the backlash, Education Minister Elisabeth Borne emphasized the crucial importance of the new curriculum. She highlighted alarming statistics provided by an independent commission, revealing that a child in France is sexually abused every three minutes, with the majority of cases involving male family members. Borne pointed out the disturbing trend of children turning to online pornography for information about sex, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive education on these topics.
