During the parliamentary debate on the so-called comprehensive bill aimed at addressing sexual and gender-based violence against women and children, deputies reviewed the version of the text that had been approved by a special committee. This version proposed that all cases of rape be sent to the courts of assizes, which are higher courts that handle more serious crimes. However, the current system allows for such cases to be judged by departmental criminal courts, except for crimes punishable by twenty years or more. The discussion took place in the National Assembly on Thursday evening, October 1st, and continued into Friday morning. The focus was on Article 5 of the bill, titled providing a comprehensive response to the phenomenon of sexual and gender-based violence against women and children, which seeks to reform the judicial process. The amendment introduced by the political group La France Insoumise, which would have removed sexual crimes from the jurisdiction of departmental criminal courts (CCD), had been approved in the committee (Article 5 bis). Before this, the text had proposed sending all rape cases to the courts of assizes. On Friday morning, amendments to remove the newly added Article 5 bis, supported by the central bloc and the right, were approved by deputies. One of the amendments stated that the goal was to keep the departmental criminal courts responsible for sexual crimes currently under their jurisdiction. It passed with 55 votes in favor and 20 against. Deputy Gabrielle Cathala from La France Insoumise criticized the decision, calling it a dismantling of the committee's work and stating that nothing would change. Earlier that evening, after extensive debate and the withdrawal of some amendments, an alternative solution was found with the support of the Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin. This involved an amendment proposed by deputy Véronique Riotton (Together for the Republic), which would preserve the jurisdiction of the departmental criminal courts for crimes punishable by fifteen or twenty years, while keeping specialized courts of assizes for crimes with sentences over twenty years. This amendment passed with 82 votes in favor and 35 against. The general rapporteur, Céline Thiébault-Martinez (Socialists), emphasized that the reflection on the bill was not yet complete and called for continued discussion to ensure a fully specialized judicial system. Meanwhile, the thematic rapporteur, Marie-Charlotte Garin (Ecologist and Socialist), expressed an unfavorable opinion from the committee but acknowledged the need for compromise. Deputy Elsa Faucillon (Democratic and Republican Left) criticized the decision as a betrayal of the feminist coalition, while Deputy Emilie Bonnivard (Republican Right) expressed satisfaction with the compromise, believing it moved closer to the desired outcome. Under the current proposal, rapes will continue to be judged by the departmental criminal courts, which consist of professional judges, as has been the case since 2023. A specialized court of assizes will be created to handle aggravated rapes punishable by twenty years or more, such as the case of Gisèle Pelicot in the Mazan rape case or that of former child sexual abuse surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec. Each court will now require two judges and a prosecutor specialized in sexual and intrafamily violence. The examination of the bill will continue this Friday and next week, with over 1,200 amendments submitted. A final vote is scheduled for October 13th in the chamber of the Palais-Bourbon.