The French National Assembly’s Law Committee adopted a bill submitted by MP Caroline Yadan to regulate new forms of hate speech, including calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.
Following the 7 October 2023 attacks in Israel, a surge of antisemitic statements appeared in public spaces and on social media, exploiting the Middle East conflict and hatred of Israel to target French Jews.
New forms of antisemitic discourse have emerged, either by attributing responsibility for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Jewish people, or by directly or indirectly inciting attacks against them in the name of the conflict.
To address these types of speech, which are not covered by existing law, Caroline Yadan, MP for French citizens abroad and affiliated with Ensemble pour la République, submitted in November 2024 a bill aimed at combating renewed forms of antisemitism.
The bill contains four articles, including:
- Strengthening the offence of incitement to terrorist acts or public glorification of such acts, by criminalising implicit provocation and statements that trivialise or downplay such acts (Article 1);
- Sanctioning calls for the destruction of a state recognised by the French Republic (Article 2);
- Extending the offence of Holocaust denial to include any “outrageous negation, minimisation or trivialisation” (Article 4).
Prior to the committee’s adoption, Yonathan Arfi, President of CRIF, testified to the National Assembly, emphasising the need to preserve freedom of expression, including the right to criticise Israeli government policy, while highlighting the importance of regulating hate speech when it threatens the safety of French citizens.
He noted that at least one-third of antisemitic acts recorded in 2024 explicitly referenced Palestine (Ministry of the Interior and SPCJ data), and that 21% of French citizens considered it justified to target Jews supporting Israel (Ifop, Recognition of a Palestinian State and Antisemitism: the French Perspective, 2025). These figures indicate a clear link between hatred of Israel and attacks on French Jews, supporting the need for legislative adaptation.
Co-signed by around a hundred MPs, including socialist and Republican representatives, the bill was examined by the Law Committee on 20 January 2026, marking the first step in the legislative process. Amendments were adopted following recommendations from the Council of State to ensure conformity with the principle of freedom of expression.
With committee approval secured, the bill will next be scheduled for a public session, where it will be debated and voted on by the full Assembly.
The Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions welcomed the adoption of the bill, underlining the importance of combating hatred and discrimination in the Republic, whether antisemitic, racist, or otherwise.
