Valerie Boyer

PARIS—French Parliament member Valérie Boyer, a representative of the Bouches-du-Rhône Department and five other parliament members representing the Union for a Popular Movement party introduced a new resolution that would criminalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide, reported the Paris-based Nouvelle d’Arménie.

The bill was drafted jointly with the Armenian attorney, Philip Grigorian, who worked on the previous iteration of the bill.

This legislation is based on the European Parliament’s Genocide and military crimes’ denial penalization clause. The new measure carries a two-year prison term and a fine of 45,000 Euros for anyone denying a crime of genocide.

The previous bill was approved by the Senate last year, but the French Constitutional Council ruled it unconstitutional.

French President Francois Hollande pledged that he would support a bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

“Wouldn’t a bill introduced by the same person meet the same fate, despite assurances by President Hollande, who like his predecessor, pledged to support such a measure?” wondered the political director of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Giro Manoyan in response to a question from report.am.

Manoyan explained that the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organization in France (CCAF), which includes the ANC of France believes that it would be counter-intuitive if the bill is introduced by the opposition to avoid the politicization of the issue.

The CCAF, Manoyan added, is working on a draft that addresses the concerns put forth by the Constitutional Court, which called the initial measure unconstitutional.

“The coordinating body wants to work with Elysee Palace and the presidential staff directly to ensure that the French President would honor his promise,” said Manoyan.