By Nearly 700,000 people have signed a petition calling for the proposed legislation to be blocked
A sweeping bill advancing through France’s parliament is set to criminalise wide areas of speech on Israel, with penalties of up to five years in prison.
The legislation, due for its first reading in the National Assembly on 16 April, has secured broad backing across the political spectrum, including support from the far right.
Nearly 700,000 people have signed a petition calling for the law to be blocked, and protests have spread across the country over a bill many say threatens free speech.
The proposal is spearheaded by French MP Caroline Yadan, a leading figure among lawmakers who openly describe themselves as “unconditional” supporters of Israel.
The bill introduces sweeping new offences. It criminalises denying Israel’s existence and outlaws comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany, a protection that does not extend to France itself.
It also expands terrorism-related offences to include what the text defines as “implicit” provocation.
‘Becoming a censor of other people’s thoughts’
Under Article 1, individuals could face up to five years in prison and heavy fines for speech interpreted as justifying or reframing acts labelled as terrorism. That could include describing such acts as “resistance” or providing context deemed insufficiently condemnatory.
France’s former anti-terrorism judge Marc Trevidic issued a stark warning about the implications.
“Implicit provocation to terrorism: do you realize what that means? Becoming a censor of other people’s thoughts, trying to guess what a person really meant.”
The bill also broadens the offence of “apology for terrorism” to include the “minimising or trivialising” of attacks. Under the new wording, courts could interpret attempts to explain root causes or political context as criminal acts.
She represents the 8th constituency for French citizens abroad, where Israel accounts for a significant share of voters, and has made defence of Israel central to her political agenda.
Another provision expands laws on crimes against humanity. The text explicitly states that comparing Israel to Nazi Germany would amount to “outrageous trivialization” of the Holocaust, making such comparisons punishable.
The preamble leaves little doubt about the intent. Lawmakers behind the bill state that equating Israel with the Nazi regime should be treated as a criminal offence, effectively shielding Israel from one of the most charged forms of political criticism.
The legislation builds on France’s already draconian speech laws, which criminalise Holocaust denial under the Gayssot Act. The new measures go further by extending criminal liability into broader political expression.
Yadan, who is herself Jewish, has defended the bill by claiming without evidence that “For fifteen years, Jews have been killed in France ‘in the name of Gaza.’”
She has also broken with President Emmanuel Macron over his recognition of the right of a Palestinian state to exist. Yadan also lashed out at Macron in October 2024 after he called for halting weapons deliveries to Israel during its genocide in Gaza.
