France: Proposed legislation to criminalize 'great replacement' and 'remigration' rhetoric

Following the racist attack in Trappes on October 23, Green party MPs Sabrina Sebaihi and Steevy Gustave have introduced a bill to the French National Assembly to combat hate speech. The draft legislation seeks to penalize terms like "great replacement" and "remigration," categorizing them as incitement to discrimination when used to portray specific groups as a threat based on their origin. The bill proposes harsher penalties for elected officials and political candidates found guilty of such discourse, including up to three years in prison and a 75,000 euro fine. Furthermore, it empowers the judiciary to compel digital service providers to remove content deemed illegal. The sponsors argue that these measures are essential to protect social peace and republican values, insisting that the goal is not to punish freedom of opinion but to curb rhetoric that threatens collective safety.