Critics attack 'anti-democratic' French bill making rioters pay
The measure would let courts deduct benefits and housing aid to cover riot damage, while critics warn it could punish peaceful protesters and poor families.
- On Wednesday, the French Senate passed the "Rioters Pay" bill, establishing joint financial liability for protest-related damages and authorizing the state to seize welfare entitlements to recover compensation from vandals.
- Lawmakers fast-tracked the legislation following nationwide unrest on October 17, when rioting caused over 1 billion euros in damage, prompting government action to compensate vandalism victims.
- The bill allows courts to impose fines up to 10,000 euros and deduct funds from social benefits, including the Active Solidarity Income , from individuals who knowingly participated in violent protest groups.
- Amnesty International France denounced the measure as a "deeply regressive step," warning that seizing benefits could push already marginalized families into poverty while threatening the right to peaceful assembly.
- The legislation now moves to the politically divided National Assembly, where the far-right National Rally party, led by Marine Le Pen, supports the measure as necessary to maintain order before next year's presidential election.
178 Articles
178 Articles
Who pays for a $1B riot? Europe looks past rioters to their parents and the apps in their pockets – WTOP News
PARIS (AP) — In France, the bill for a riot could soon be paid from a family’s housing aid. Some people in a violent crowd could be made to pay for windows they never broke. France’s Senate approved the measure 229-105 this week, less than two weeks after cost-of-living protests spiraled into the country’s worst...
Winnipeg Free Press
Who pays for a $1B riot? Europe looks past rioters to their parents and the apps in their pockets
PARIS (AP) — In France, the bill for a riot could soon be paid from a family’s housing aid. Some people in a violent crowd could be made to pay for windows they never broke.
The French Senate has approved a bill on collective responsibility for protesters, which is reported to the local media.
The French Senate has passed a bill imposing liability for damages of up to 10,000 euros on participants who did not damage property at protest sites. Targeting those involved in violent groups or those who refused to comply with dispersal orders, strong sanctions such as the seizure of family allowances and the deportation of foreigners are set to be implemented if the bill passes the National Assembly.
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