Parents in France no longer have the right to smack their children after new law comes into force – and Britain is under mounting pressure to follow suit.

Parents in France no longer have the right to beat their children after a new law banning corporal punishment came into force this week.

The move leaves Britain as one of only four countries in Europe where smacking remains a legal way of disciplining children.

The French law now defines parental authority in the Civil Code as excluding 'all cruel, degrading or humiliating treatment, including any recourse to corporal violence'.

Centrist French MP Jean-Christophe Lagarde, pictured, criticised the new legislation claiming it was 'a ridiculous attempt to micromanage family life' by the state and its agents. 

Now the UK, Italy, Switzerland and the Czech Republic are all expected to receive mounting demands to pass a similar law against smacking.

French centrist MP Jean-Christophe Lagarde has described his country's new law as ' a ridiculous attempt to micromanage family life'. 

The ban was proposed by a group of ecologist and socialist MPs as an amendment to the Equality and Citizenship bill, which went before parliament earlier this year.

The legistlation says it aims to 'set out a clear principle, which should be repeated to fathers and mothers and influence their future behaviour'.

As part of the law, brides and grooms will be reminded during the civil marriage service of their obligation not to use violence against their children.

France has come under fire from the Council of Europe and the UN in recent years for their stance on violence against children.

Now the UK, Italy, Switzerland and the Czech Republic are all expected to receive mounting demands to pass a similar law against smacking.

Lagarde added: 'Are we going to be told how to stack our plates, whether children should be made to dry up and whether they can help their parents with the chores?'

Thierry Vidor, director of Familles de France, added: 'To cast judgment on parents who love their children and may give them a little tap on the backside if they are naughty, is going too far. That type of act has no negative effect on a child's education.'

Last year, Pope Francis also stated that he believed parents could smack children for bad behaviour, despite it being banned in his home country of Argentina.

Cc Daily Mail.