French Constitutional Council Censors the Law Criminalizing Genocide Denial

PARIS — The Constitutional Council of France on Thursday annulled the decision, which the country’s National Assembly had adopted on December 22, 2016, with respect to criminalizing the denial of genocides and mass murders on national or religious grounds.

The Constitutional Council required some amendments to the Equality and Citizenship Act article that refers to the penalty for the denial of genocide and some crimes—including those which still legally are not considered as such.

The French Constitutional Council decided that the criminalizing of genocide denial and the ensuing penalties are mandatory for application, since they are in violation of the Law on Freedom of Speech and Press that was adopted in 1881, and which runs counter to the Constitution of France.

The Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) has said “the Constitutional Council has the moral and political responsibility for exposing many French citizens, and especially those of Armenian origin, to the aggression with complete impunity of Turkey’s state denial.”

The CCAF will never accept such a submission and will continue to denounce and combat negationism which has no connection with any historical debate but instead participates in the elaboration and justification of the crime of genocide, the supreme stage of racism.