France’s Crackdown on Pro-Palestinian Speech
The French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan was taken into police custody and questioned for ‘glorifying terrorism’ in October 2025. This case is part of a broader pattern of silencing pro-Palestinian solidarity in France, where the government has pursued deeply illiberal measures despite the shelving of the controversial ‘Yadan bill’.
Introduced in 2024 by Caroline Yadan, the draft legislation aimed to counter ‘new forms of antisemitism’ but was widely denounced for curbing criticism of Israel. It proposed widening the offence of glorifying terrorism to include ‘indirect incitement’ and introduced a new offence penalising ‘inciting the destruction or denial of a state’. Rights bodies warned of its dangerously illiberal trajectory, with five UN rapporteurs expressing concern over threats to freedom of expression.
Despite a petition gathering 700,000 signatures, the government withdrew the bill but signalled broader legislation against racism. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu argued that anti-Zionism had become ‘the mask of an old antisemitism.’ However, the proposals are part of a broader structural criminalisation of pro-Palestinian activism.
Since the 7 October 2023 attacks, prosecutions for glorifying terrorism have multiplied, targeting influencers, athletes, trade unionists, and MPs. University students faced violent police repression, condemned by human rights organisations. High-profile figures like academic François Burgat were charged but later acquitted.
Rima Hassan, a lawyer and former Palestinian refugee, faces trial in July for an X post quoting a Japanese terrorist. Her phone was under police surveillance without her knowledge. She plans to refer the matter to the UN and European parliament.
The disproportionate response to pro-Palestinian activism, which human rights groups call a genocide, raises questions about restricting essential democratic expression. The Yadan bill is dead, but the dynamic of conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism and narrowing pro-Palestinian discourse persists.
