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French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu vowed his government’s support on Thursday for proposed legislation aimed at combating anti-Zionist forms of antisemitism.
Speaking at a Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) event, Lecornu said a measure authored by MP Caroline Yadan would be placed on the parliamentary agenda in April. Among other purposes, the bill would criminalize rhetoric urging the elimination of a country recognized by France.
“Calling for the destruction of the State of Israel is calling to endanger the lives of a people” and “cannot be tolerated any longer,” Lecornu said.
“To say ‘From the river to the sea’ is a call for the disappearance of Israel,” he added.
The bill is centered on three key objectives — countering the glorification of terrorism; creating a specific offense penalizing calls for the destruction of a state recognized by France; and strengthening the fight against Holocaust denial.
Yardan, who represents French citizens living overseas, said the legislation drew inspiration from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism.
“This is a law of clarification — a law that draws clear boundaries between democratic debate, which is essential and protected, and hatred, which cannot be tolerated,” she stated. “It prevents discourse from turning human groups into legitimate targets. It protects freedom of expression precisely by refusing to allow it to be instrumentalized to justify violence.”
“This law will protect Jews in France,” she emphasized. “And its adoption is essential to our collective future.”
Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Director of European Affairs Shannon Seban welcomed Prime Minister Lecornu’s support for the bill.
“Anti-Zionism and antisemitism are two sides of the same coin,” Seban said. “If we are serious about fighting antisemitism, condemnation alone is no longer enough, we need action and effective tools, and the justice system is one of them.”
“Denying a people’s right to self-determination and to their own state is antisemitism, and it should be punished,” she continued. “I hope France’s serious consideration of this legislation will encourage other European countries to follow suit. Above all, it shuts down the argument of those who hide their antisemitism behind anti-Zionism and then claim innocence.”
