A woman, who was blamed by French courts for her divorce because she no longer had sex with her husband, has won an appeal in Europe’s top human rights court, the court said on Thursday, reigniting a debate in France over women’s rights.

The EU's Court of Human Rights ruled that a 69-year-old French woman whose husband was granted a divorce after she stopped having sex with him was not "at fault", refuting a decision by French courts.

Europe's top rights court on Thursday ruled in favour of a 69-year-old Frenchwoman whose husband had obtained a divorce on the grounds that she had stopped having sex with him. In 2004, she stopped having sex with him and in 2012 petitioned for divorce.