• French President has vowed to end harassment in steets and on public transport
  • A working party has been sent up by his under-secretary for gender equality
  • Marlene Schiappa is looking at what fines to introduce and how to impose them
  • Plans to end ‘macho’ culture could see wolf-whistling become a criminal offence 

Emmanuel Macron wants to ban men from following women and asking for their phone number under new plans to end the ‘macho’ culture in France.

The 39-year-old French President vowed to crackdown on harassment on public transport and in the street when he was on the election trail earlier this year.

A working party set up by, Marlene Schiappa, the under-secretary for gender equality, is now looking to produce legislation making it illegal to harass people in a public place – and this could mean outlawing wolf-whistles.

Five MPs on the committee will examine the legal definition of street harassment before ruling what fines should be imposed, according to The Times.

But critics say the measures will be hard to implement because of the difficulty of proving an offence had taken place.

Schiappa, a blogger and novelist who Macron has appointed to his cabinet, suggested earlier this year that punishments could be in the form of on-the-spot fines – but the exact figure has yet to be determined.

Speaking to the Guardian, she revealed sexual harassment on the street was a ‘huge phenomenon’ in France.

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