Evaluation Note/Burcu Gültekin Punsmann, PhD Is the French Bill Hate Speech Regulation?

"It is presumed by its advocates that the bill for the criminalization of the denial of the ‘Armenian Genocide’ introduced to the French Assemblée Nationale is intending to approximate the French criminal law provisions as required by the EU Framework decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law. This decision followed the Framework decision on Racism and Xenophobia adopted on April 19, 2007 by the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union Decision.  This common framework decision that requires European states to legislate against racism in general, encompassing Holocaust denial has been the subject of negotiation since 2001 and was finally adopted during the German Presidency in 2007.

Pure content based hate speech regulation is a controversial issue: disagreements exist on when and how governments should regulate it. There is a debate in democratic societies on whether the fundamental right to free speech must be curtailed with respect to hate speech in order to protect the group and the individual dignity of minority groups.  According to the EU, the approximation of the national criminal law provisions should help to combat racist and xenophobic offenses more effectively by promoting a full and effective judicial cooperation between Member States..."