France to ban psychological violence

The AFP news agency reports:

PARIS — France is to pass a law banning "psychological violence within the couple" and study the idea of tagging violent partners to prevent them stalking their victims, the government said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced the measures in a speech to mark the United Nations' tenth International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, promising legislation in the first half of nest year.

"It's an important step forward: the creation of this offence will allow us to deal with the most insidious situations, situations that leave no visible scars, but which leave their victims torn up inside," he said.

"And we are going to experiment with electronic surveillance measures on the Spanish model to monitor the effectiveness of restraining orders against a violent spouse," he added.

I think I see where this is heading. In a few years, all French men will be required to wear electronic bracelets that detect the sound of a male voice yelling, and automatically call 911. It will be a crime to yell at your wife or mistress in a loud voice.

When voice recognition technology gets better, the bracelets will be able to detect insults and demeaning remarks, such as "your butt is getting too fat". Instead of calling 911, it will automatically inject a tranquilizer into the man's bloodstream.