French lawmakers throw out large-scale petition critical of new anti-semitism bill

French lawmakers have rejected a petition seeking to halt a vote on a new law aimed at broadening the scope of offences related to antisemitism, widely known as the “Yadan bill.”

The decision effectively removes the petition from further parliamentary consideration, Caliber.Az reports, citing French media outlets.

The proposed legislation is designed to tighten measures against what are described as “new forms of antisemitism.” Despite attracting more than 700,000 signatures in less than two months, the petition will not be brought forward for debate in the National Assembly of France.

If adopted in its current form, the bill would expand the definition of “apology for terrorism” — already a criminal offence in France — to include speech that “implicitly” justifies or downplays acts classified as terrorism. It would also make it illegal to call for the “destruction” of any country recognised by France, an offence punishable by up to five years in prison, as reported by France 24.

Despite the petition’s rejection, political tensions around the bill continue to mount. Several centrist and government-aligned lawmakers have signaled they may not support the initiative, while others have called for it to be withdrawn altogether.

The bill, introduced by MP Caroline Yadan, proposes tougher penalties for incitement and the justification of terrorism, as well as the creation of a new criminal offence targeting calls for the destruction of a state. It was put forward in response to a surge in antisemitic incidents following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

The National Assembly will debate the proposed bill on April 16.

By Nazrin Sadigova