The Senate approved an expanded version of the bill by 229 votes to 105, backed by the right wing and centrist alliance that holds a majority in the upper house. The legislation now heads to the National Assembly, which is split between France’s political factions, for debate and a vote. Far right leader Marine Le Pen, whom opinion polls place as the frontrunner to succeed Emmanuel Macron in next spring’s presidential election, supports the legislation.
The bill was drafted in response to riots that followed Paris Saint-Germain’s victory over Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League final in May. It has taken on added significance after weeks of protests over inequality and soaring prices culminated in some of the worst violence France has seen in years on October 17, when thousands of businesses across the country were damaged and looted. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stressed the urgency of responding to that damage. “We can no longer allow the vast majority of our fellow citizens to pay for a minority of vandals,” he said.
Under the legislation, protesters could be ordered to pay up to 10,000 euros for damage caused during street demonstrations. The contested mechanism is joint financial liability: it applies to anyone found to have knowingly participated in a group formed with the intent of carrying out acts of vandalism, and to people who voluntarily stayed in a gathering likely to disrupt public order after two police dispersal warnings, whether or not they personally damaged anything. Senators also expanded the recovery provisions, allowing welfare benefits, housing assistance, family allowances, the back to school allowance and the employment bonus to be seized toward unpaid sums, and the Senate separately approved a measure on Tuesday allowing authorities to demand rapid removal of social media content calling for insurrection or taking up arms against the state.
Critics argue the bill punishes association rather than acts. Amnesty International’s French branch called the benefits confiscation provisions deeply regressive and warned they could push already marginalised families deeper into poverty, and left wing lawmakers accused the government of an authoritarian shift at the expense of the freedom to organise protests. The Assembly debate is where the bill’s fate will be decided: the Senate majority that passed it does not exist in the lower house, and the joint liability clause is the provision most likely to be amended or struck.