French parliament approves bill on Armenian Genocide denial

October 12, 2006 Today, the French passed a bill that would penalise what the bill calls  of the. The French government however opposes the bill; Catherine Colonna, Minister charged with European Affairs, reacted that "It's the task, first and foremost, of historians and not of lawmakers to clarify history."

The label "" is disputed by the Turkish government, who has called the vote a "serious blow" to diplomatic relations. Turkey has been known to prosecute Turkish intellectuals who discuss the Armenian genocide, including recent Nobel Prize winner. Under the Turkish Penal Code, "prosecution for anti-national plots" faces those who call "for the recognition of the Armenian genocide".

Erdoğan had warned France to look into its own colonial past in Africa instead of demanding Turkish recognition of the events. , the Turkish Minister of Economy, in for talks on Turkey's E.U.-membership, said he could not exclude that people would start boycotting French products in Turkey. In a recent visit to Armenia, the Jacques Chirac launched the idea that recognition as a "genocide" would be necessary for Turkey to enter the E.U., causing the media to label it as the "Chirac criterion". The European Commission, which has confirmed that such a criterion would not be instituted, deplored the initiative of the French parliament, because it could damage contacts with the European Union. Most historians view the events comprising the Armenian genocide as a state-sponsored plan of mass extermination. Their reasons include various eye witness reports, Turkey's recruitment of violent criminals to posts within the, and the sheer number of dead, estimates of which remain as high as 1.5 million. Some politically influential countries like the U.S., Canada, and France have driven efforts to interpret these events as an attempt to eradicate an ethnic group. The Turkish government, as well as a few historians, estimate the number of casualties much lower, and attribute them to inter-ethnic strife, disease and famine during World War I.

Armenia has congratulated France over its "natural response" to an "aggressive" policy of "denial" by the Turkish government. Armenians often argue that Turkey's recognition will help prevent similar events in the future. These assertions include claims that observations of the Armenian genocide had a formative influence upon  plans for the.

The French bill provides for a 1-year prison sentence and a 45,000 fine, the same as for. It must still be approved by the and the President, and due to the parliamentary calendar, news sources think it is unlikely that it will be discussed before the end of the legislation period in February 2007.