Man Fined $14,000 For Not Having Sex With Wife

As if it wasn’t bad enough to have a judge declare that his inability to satisfy his wife sexually was the sole cause of their divorce, a French court has now ordered a 51-year-old man to pay his ex-wife damages for the lack of activity in their bedroom.

Two years ago, a judge in Nice granted the 47-year-old woman a divorce, and agreed with her claim that her husband, who’s identified as “Jean-Louis B.” in The Telegraph was responsible for the deterioration of their marriage. Now she’s taken him back to court, and a judge ruled that he must pay her 10,000 euros, or about $14,000 for “lack of sex over 21 years of marriage.”

The man said he was unable to adequately romance his wife due to “tiredness and health problems,” but the court wasn’t sympathetic to that depressing defense. The judge said:

“A sexual relationship between husband and wife is the expression of affection they have for each other, and in this case it was absent … By getting married, couples agree to sharing their life and this clearly implies they will have sex with each other.”

Lack of sexual compatibility may be grounds for divorce, but why should the man be fined for his lack of desire, or perhaps inability, to have sex? Marital rape isn’t legal in France, but apparently it’s fine for the court to punish someone for not wanting to sleep with their spouse.