French Senate debates bill making some protesters liable for damage

France’s Senate debated a bill in Paris on 27 October that could make some people at demonstrations jointly liable for damage, according to AFP. The proposal would expose them to claims of up to €10,000 and could allow welfare benefits or housing assistance to be seized to cover costs, raising a dispute over who should pay for protest-related vandalism.

The bill had not reached a reported vote in AFP’s account of the debate. It was drafted in response to riots after Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final victory over Arsenal in May, AFP reported. The government has also pointed to looting and rioting on 17 October as a reason to compensate people affected by vandalism, according to Reuters reporting published by France 24.

Who could be liable under the French protest bill

Reuters reported that the proposal would permit the state to seize welfare entitlements from people convicted under it, or from their parents if they are minors. AFP also identified housing assistance as a possible source of payment. The financial consequences could therefore extend beyond an order to pay damages directly.

Why ministers and rights groups disagree

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told parliament there was an urgent need to respond to vandalism, arguing that the wider public should not bear the costs of damage caused by a minority, AFP reported. In comments to broadcaster TF1 cited by Reuters, he described the proposal as creating joint responsibility rather than collective responsibility.

Lawyer Hanna Bouchareb, who represented people accused in fast-track trials after the 17 October rioting, told Reuters that violence can occur near peaceful demonstrators without their involvement. She argued that the bill could undermine the right to protest. AFP reported that Communist senator Fabien Gay said the measure conflated protesters with rioters, while Green senator Mélanie Vogel called it collective punishment.

France’s Human Rights League and trade unionists called for the proposal to be scrapped, according to Reuters. Their objection centres on the bill’s reach: supporters say it would recover the cost of vandalism, while critics fear liability could fall on people who did not commit it. AFP’s account left the Senate vote pending.