LFI provokes strong reactions by proposing to repeal the offense of glorifying terrorism

“It’s hard to get more despicable.” The comment, written on X, is from the Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau. Below, a screenshot displays a bill tabled by France Insoumise (LFI) on November 19. The text, written by the North deputy Ugo Bernalicis and his LFI colleagues, wants to remove this offense created by a 2014 law, believing that “the means of the fight against terrorism in France have regularly been diverted from their purpose by the Governments in place to repress freedom of expression”.

The law of November 14, 2014 on “the fight against terrorism”desired by the Valls government, included the offense of apologizing for an act of terrorism – already punishable by the 1881 law on freedom of the press – in the Penal Code, with the possibility of immediate appearance before the justice. The penalty incurred can be up to 7 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros. For LFI, this tool is just one “instrumentalization of the fight against terrorism” and an attack on “freedom of expression”, they explain in the text submitted this Tuesday.

“Which democracy can still retain its name when anti-terrorism methods are used to repress political activists, community activists, journalists and even trade unionists”we can read in the explanatory memorandum. LFI wishes to stick to “the law of July 29, 1881 dealing with facts relating to the offenses of apologizing for a crime, apologizing for a war crime, apologizing for a crime against humanity”, which, according to them, is sufficient as it stands.

“Proposal of shame”

Reactions, on the right but also in the Macronist ranks, have multiplied since Saturday morning. After Bruno Retailleau, the ex-LR and president of the Union des Droits group Éric Ciotti castigated “a proposed law of shame”, “one more infamy of the Rebels”. “They are there”for her part tackled Horizons MEP Nathalie Loiseau, rejecting LFI and RN back-to-back.

Several deputies from the presidential camp, also expressing their indignation, challenged the elected socialists by questioning the NFP alliance. “They couldn’t be clearer about their affinities!”judged Sylvain Maillard, elected Renaissance. “Socialist deputies, how can you continue to sit alongside such people?!”. “Socialists, how can you claim to govern with them?” added Macronist MP David Amiel, as well as several others from his group. “Cynicism has its limits.”

“Repress freedom of expression”

Faced with the outcry, Jean-Luc Mélenchon deplored “a new aggression against LFI”, “coming from the extreme right and slavishly taken up by the media-political officialdom”. And the boss of the Insoumis urges “read the text of the bill”, “rather than make films”.

Several LFI and radical left leaders were recently convicted in connection with this offense. In their text, the LFI deputies cite several examples to justify their desire for repeal, starting with the CGT leader of the North Jean-Paul Delescaut, sentenced to one year in prison suspended in first instance – he appealed – for remarks made in a leaflet supporting the Palestinians. “The horrors of the illegal occupation have piled up. Since Saturday (October 7, 2023, date of the Hamas attack in Israel, Editor's note) they have received the responses they provoked.could we read in this leaflet.

The group's president, Mathilde Panot, and LFI MEP Rima Hassan, were also interviewed in April by the Parisian judicial police as part of investigations into “apology of terrorism”. The first was notably heard regarding the press release published by his group on October 7, 2023, in which the Hamas attack in Israel was described as “an armed offensive by Palestinian forces”in a “context of intensification of the Israeli occupation policy” in the Palestinian territories.