FRANCE: Bill on antisemitism risks silencing civil society, journalists, and academic freedom
In January 2026, the French National Assembly’s Law Committee approved a controversial bill aimed at “combat new forms of antisemitism”. The bill, known as the “Yadan Law” after the MP Caroline Yadan, who introduced the bill, proposes to broaden the offence of glorifying terrorism, ban slogans used during Palestine solidarity protests, and create a new offence criminalising criticism of the state of Israel. The proposal uses the controversial definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which experts warn has been used to wrongly label criticism of Israel as antisemitic. If passed, the law risks being exploited to suppress solidarity with the Palestinian people and public criticism of Israel’s state policies, undermining both freedom of expression and the fight against antisemitism, as well as posing a big risk of censorship. The work of civil society groups, journalists and academics could be stifled. According to legal experts, the law confuses the legitimate and democratic criticism of the State of Israel with increasing antisemitism. The bill is scheduled to be debated on 16 April, but the government, which supports it, initiated a fast-track procedure for adopting it. It follows similar approaches that have been taken in countries like Denmark and Italy.