Europe Is Trying to Criminalize Catcalls. It Isn't Easy.

The U.S. sexual harassment scandals have largely reached continental Europe as a hollow echo. One European leader, however, appears to be serious about following up on the public outrage with measures intended to make his country safer for women: President Emmanuel Macron of France.

France has far more relaxed social norms than the U.S. when it comes to flirting and affairs. #BalanceTonPorc (Squeal on Your Pig), the French hashtag that emerged in response to #MeToo, helped boost the number of harassment complaints filed by women but didn't result in repercussions for any high-profile men. But the change Macron wants to enact first -- the criminalization of street harassment -- goes further than the rules that exist in the U.S. Various U.S. states punish offenses such as following a person or calling out to someone repeatedly after being ignored or told to stop. But the proposal Macron backs -- one originally advanced before the U.S. scandals hit by gender equality minister Marlene Schiappa -- aims to make sexist catcalls and wolf whistles a crime regardless of the circumstances.