Abortion has been legal in France since 1975, but polls show around 85% of the public supported amending the constitution to protect the right to end a pregnancy.

Before the vote, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told parliament that the right to abortion remained "in danger" and "at the mercy of decision makers".

While resistance from right-wingers in parliament failed to materialise, President Macron has been accused of using the constitution for electoral ends.

In a 2001 ruling, the council based its approval of abortion on the notion of liberty enshrined in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man, which is technically part of the constitution.

And so nothing authorised us to think that France was exempt from this risk," said Laura Slimani, from the Fondation des Femmes rights group.

"There can be no 'right' to take a human life," the Vatican institution said in a statement, echoing concerns already raised by French Catholic bishops.

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