A 46 year old French woman of Malian origin was set free with a suspended one year prison sentence after she was found guilty of “voluntary blows and injuries leading to mutilations” on young children. She had carried out ritual excisions (or clitoridectomies) on baby girls at the request of immigrant parents who abided by the ancient custom that is still widely practised in sub-Saharan Africa. The parents were acquitted.

Yves Corneloup, president of the Paris Cour d'Assises (criminal court), where the trial was held, complained that no specific legislation has yet been adopted to deal with …