In an online post, Macron said a draft project would be submitted to the State Council, France’s highest administrative court, this coming week, with a view to making abortion rights constitutional by the end of the year.

“In 2024, the right of women to choose abortion will become irreversible,” he said.

The announcement follows a promise Macron made on International Women’s Day on March 8, which was seen as a response to the overturning of federal abortion rights in the US last year.

Constitutional revision in France requires either a referendum or approval by at least three-fifths of the members of both chambers of parliament.

Most constitutional changes in post-war France have been approved by a congressional vote.

The termination of a pregnancy was decriminalised in France in 1975 and successive laws have since aimed at improving conditions for abortions, notably by protecting the health and anonymity of women, as well as reducing the financial burden of the procedure on women.

A November 2022 opinion poll found that 89% of respondents were in favour of making abortion rights constitutional.

According to government figures, 234,000 abortions were carried out in France last year.