Now, "whenever there are sufficiently credible grounds to suspect rape or sexual assault, the accused will systematically be suspended," Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and State Secretary for Veterans Patricia Miralles wrote in Le Monde newspaper.

The internal probe would seek to assess the effectiveness of an existing committee, created in 2014 and named after the Greek goddess of justice Themis, in dealing with such allegations.

More than 16 percent of France's military personnel are women.

Last year the military received 226 claims of sexual violence or harassment, the defence ministry said.

Sexual violence in the military has become a hot topic since a former navy sailor named Manon Dubois last month told French media that a colleague, an electrician, had repeatedly sexually assaulted her during her first job in the galley of a navy ship as an 18-year-old.

His superiors did not punish him and he left the ship, according to the story she told France Info.

But two years later they had to work together on another ship and he again assaulted her. After she reported him, he was suspended for 10 days but stayed on board and she had to continue serving him his meals, she said.

A court has since sentenced him to paying her 600 euros ($630) in damages and following a sexual violence awareness course, his superiors have said.