French Assembly Withdraws Attack on Free Speech, For Now

Paris (04-16) – As part of a week of protests across France to show solidarity and resistance with Palestinians, a large protest in Paris on April 16 took place near the National Assembly ahead of a scheduled vote on the controversial anti-semitism bill “The Yadan law.” But at the last minute, the Assembly withdrew the draft bill deciding instead to incorporate its full text into a new draft that it will consider in late June.

The bill was first introduced in November 2024 by National Assembly deputy Caroline Yadan of the center-right Ensemble pour la République (EPR) party, who represents French citizens living abroad, including those in Israel. Its stated aim was to amend France’s 1881 Press Freedom Law by broadening punishments for so-called “antisemitism.” Critics argue, however, that the measure would effectively criminalize legitimate criticism of Israel or of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies.

Even though the bill has presently been withdrawn, it raises serious concerns about how to address the rise of antisemitism without undermining free speech, political expression and open debate on Israel’s occupation and the genocide in Palestine—whether by individuals, the press, or in expressions of thought, as one protester’s sign put it. One danger expressed by opponents to the legislation is that “the law mixes up anti-semitism with anti-Zionism that in turn could support Israel’s policies in the Palestinian territories.”

On January 20, 2026, the bill narrowly passed the parliamentary committee by an 18 to 14 margin. Its last-minute withdrawal was due in part to a petition started by 26-year-old, Alexandre Balasse, who gathered more than 700,000 signatures on the official National Assembly website opposing the draft legislation. That in turn made it eligible to open a possible debate in parliament “reflecting deep public worry that the law could limit free speech.”

Activists had scheduled two days for protests near the National Assembly building not knowing when the vote would take place. As several hundred protesters gathered, a large contingent of police stood by the area that had been prepared with numerous displays related to the colonial state of occupation and its victims.

Among the displays were 18 panels on blood red paper with the names and ages of 18,500 children killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Nearby were children’s clothes on clotheslines and a display of small shoes on chairs along with candles as a memorial to those killed in the Israel’s apartheid war. One protester even brought along his two white doves, a sign of peace, to decorate his protest sign.

With the bill’s withdrawal today, activists will have more time to organize their opposition and intensify efforts to resist and overturn this sweeping assault on free speech and a continued erosion of democratic rights.

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini