The bill on the Armenian Genocide denial criminalization will again be debated in the French Parliament. Its author, MP Valerie Boyer, introduced it in the Committee on Constitutional Laws and Legislation.  The bill was introduced in the parliament on 14 October 2014. In her speech, Boyer stated:

“On 29 May 1998, the National Assembly of France approved the principle under which France publicly acknowledges the Armenian Genocide of 1915. This principle became a state law in January 2001. 

Although some people consider this resolution as an achievement, I think it was necessary to go further. Large number of Armenians who suffered as a result of the Armenian Genocide found shelter in France and became French. To ensure their legal defense from denial, it’s necessary to address the republic’s justice. For the acknowledgement of the Genocide to have legal consequences, legal work on the denial punishment should be carried out.

For this very purpose, the National Assembly adopted the bill on the criminalization of the Armenian Genocide denial on 12 October 2006. It wasn’t included in the Senate agenda and was turned down in May 2011.

Following this, I tried to use more relevant forms to achieve the necessary legal regulation.

This law doesn’t merely focus on one historical event. It is aimed at punishing the crimes against humanity and denial of justice. Its objective is not to compete for the primacy between the successors of the victims of different crimes but to propose efficient and permanent defense against the crime of denial.”