Stick and Stones May Break My Bones

... But Words Will Get You Three Years in France

Having solved the pesky problem of working too hard, France moved to protect its citizens from facing – get this – insults (erhm, "psychological violence"):

This means that couples who insult each other repeatedly could now be charged and face up to three years in prison. [...]
The law defines mental violence as "repeated acts which could be constituted by words or other machinations, to degrade one’s quality of life and cause a change to one’s mental or physical state".
"We have introduced an important measure here, which recognises psychological violence, because it isn’t just blows (that hurt) but also words," Nadine Morano, the minister for family affairs, told the lower house of parliament.
Those found guilty of breaking the new law will face up to three years in jail and a 75,000 euro (£60,840) fine.
"The judge could (also) take into consideration letters, SMSs or repetitive messages, because one knows that psychological violence is made up of insults," Ms Morano said.

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