“Harassment in the street has previously not been punished,” Marlène Schiappa, gender equality minister and one of the architects of the new law, told Europe 1 radio on Thursday 2 August. “What’s key is … that the laws of the French republic forbid insulting, intimidating, threatening, and following women in public spaces.”

It’s great news for the women of France, but the issue is still prevalent in the UK. In 2014, Mary Brandon was hit in the face by a man at Notting Hill Carnival, after she rejected him when he tried to grope her. In 2016, Pagan-Lilley Motlagh-Phillips was run over by two men on a moped in London after she rejected their catcalls.

“It’s positive that France are showing that they take this issue very seriously,” Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism project, tells Stylist.co.uk. “Obviously the on-the-spot fines for street harassment were already in the pipeline before this incident happened.

“It is interesting to compare it to the UK. Nottinghamshire Police carried out a successful pilot project defining misogyny as a hate crime. In spite of the really excellent results, it hasn’t been rolled out nationwide - despite campaigners urging for that to be done. I think, perhaps, we’re still not taking [street harassment] as seriously as we should in the UK.

Bates continued: “I think education in schools about harassment, abuse and consent would be another really positive way to tackle it.”

This horrific catcalling video has changed legislation