The idea of introducing a criminal offence of non-sharing of domestic tasks was raised in the presidential election campaign by eco-feminist politician Sandrine Rousseau.

Ms Rousseau highlighted research showing that the unequal distribution of household labour between men and women has barely changed in France since the 1970s.

Her novel proposal has since been bolstered by a poll from IFOP showing it has the support of 50% of women and 44% of men, The Times reports.

A further 15% of women said they would “probably or certainly” file a complaint against their partner – as did 13% of men.