France, a nation with a civil law system, gives statutes included in multiple codes precedence over case law. The idea of stare decisis does not apply in civil law systems. Each case is decided separately in line with how it relates to the codified law and how the judge interprets it. Here, we will look at France’s ten most controversial legal issues and the ethical, political, and sociological issues they have raised.
10 Most Controversial Laws in France
1) Labor Law Reform
President Francois Hollande enacted a significant revision to France’s labor laws on August 9, 2016. The labor minister of France, Myriam El Khomri, first submitted the measure on March 24, 2016. It underwent a protracted and challenging parliamentary procedure. The bill’s main objectives are to reformat and streamline French labor law. It also increases competitiveness and increases employment. The law supports collective bargaining at the level of individual businesses, in contrast to earlier legislation that gave industry-wide agreements more decision-making authority.
This modification of French labor rules passed despite fierce resistance from labor unions, student groups, and the parliament. Between March 9 and July 5, 2016, they planned 12 significant rallies to oppose the legislation, which received well over a million signatures on a petition against it. The government opposes this bill in parliament. It employs a unique constitutional provision that avoids the usual parliamentary vote process.
2) Separatism Law
On February 16, MPs adopted France’s controversial bill against separatism to curb internet hate speech and foreign funding of religious organizations.
Misinformation and anti-French demonstrations have resulted across the Muslim world. At first, the government intended to make attendance at school mandatory for children as young as three. It also outright outlaws homeschooling, except for medical needs. As per this, many Muslim kids, particularly girls, were going to radical schools. In Macron’s language, “their education consists of prayers and certain classes.” People can use the personal, familial, or professional life of anyone to identify to threaten their lives. Doing such an act will charge you a complete three-year prison and a fine of up to $45,000.
3) Immigration Bill
The law shortens the window for submitting an asylum application and doubles the time people get arrested for entering France illegally. It institutes a one-year jail sentence. The centrist party in power under President Emmanuel Macron claims that the bill will quicken the refugee application procedure.
The ability to hold failed asylum applicants awaiting deportation for up to 90 days—double the prior length of 45 days—is one of the most significant changes. The initial goal of the administration was a 135-day window.
In the legislature, opponents protested that immigrants get treated like criminals. Additionally, kids may be detained with their families. The sad part was the detention of 275 children in administrative detention facilities in 2017.
According to Human Rights Watch, shortening the deadline for asylum applications may severely affect the “most vulnerable asylum seekers, who miss the deadline.”
4) Anti-separatism law
The National Assembly approved the bill despite harsh opposition from right- and left-leaning legislators. The policy received a lot of criticism as it ignored many aspects of the lives of France’s 3.35 million strong Muslim population. This number is the largest in all of Europe. The law allows officials the right to supervise the finances of Muslim NGOs and organizations. It intervenes in mosques and institutions in charge of their management. Additionally, needing official homeschool certification restricts Muslim students’ possibilities for higher education.
5) Same-S*x Marriages
France gave legal permission for same-s*x marriages on May 17, 2013. By December 31, 2022, France noted over 70,000 same-s*x weddings, summing upto 3% of all male-to-lady unions. The range of same-s*x couples living together in the United States expanded from 173,000 in 2011 to 266,000 in 2018.
Galle Meslay, a post-doctoral fellow in sociology at INED, has examined the numbers and socio-demographic features of same-s*x couples who have opted to be married using information from civil register marriage records and INSEE’s 2011 “Family and housing” survey. Except for those on seasonality, which cover the period through 2018, all the statistics utilized here pertain to 2013 through 2017
6) Loi Avia Law
Attempting to control hate speech online, a new French law went into effect on July 1. The final law was severely weakened throughout its passage through the Senate and lower house of parliament. It was due to resistance from free speech campaigners. It is known as the “Avia law” after Laetitia Avia, the parliamentarian who drafted the initial measure. On June 18, the French Constitutional Court struck down the law’s key provision. It significantly blows President Macron’s hopes for better regulation of hate speech on the internet. It targets particularly those spreading via social media.
They determined that the “extremely short delay” that companies had to make “very technical legal decisions” on content removal ran the risk of infringing on people’s right to free expression in a way that was “not necessary, adapted, or proportionate.”
7) Burka Ban
Since 2010, wearing veils that completely enclose the face and body, like the burka, in public is prohibited. Additionally, French lawmakers have promised that starting in 2018, they will not wear emblems that might suggest their religious membership. All of France, except Alsace, forbids wearing head coverings in public spaces. Schools offer no public nativity performances or religious education lessons. Boxing Day is not a holiday. Companies may also forbid employees from donning head coverings. Additionally, starting last year, women are not permitted to use public swimming pools while wearing a burkini or other full-body bathing suit.
8) Hadopi Law
The French Parliament 2011 permits the Law on Fighting Piracy and State Police Powers at Sea.
The law lays forth the criminal offenses related to piracy that are subject to punishment. The procedures for looking into and determining whether these offenses have actually happened and the agents qualified to do so.
Providing that French forces capture the pirates, the statute gives French courts quasi-universal jurisdiction to judge acts of piracy committed outside of French territory.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that the detention of a vessel intercepted by French forces was arbitrary in its decision in Medvedyev v. France, which expressly regulates the detention of crew members of vessels that French forces have boarded
9) Global Security Law
On April 15, 2021, the French Parliament started a domestic security measure known as the “Bill for Overall Security Which Preserves Freedoms.” With the passage of this bill, the government will change the legal framework governing drone use by law enforcement, police body cameras, and video surveillance. Municipal police forces will also have more power, and private security companies will be better regulated. Before President Emmanuel Macron can sign the law, the Constitutional Council must study it
10) Pension Reform Law
In France, a law approved in 2023 raises the retirement age from 62 to 64 and mandates that the retiree have worked for at least 43 years. Its provisions triggered strikes in addition to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s use of Article 49. Three of the French Constitution, which allows a draught regulation to pass without a vote until the Assembly adopts a resolution of no confidence within a sure quantity of time, have been very contentious. By the cut-off date, they submitted two such motions. However, on March 20, both failed.
Conclusion
These legal problems have increased the stress between society’s values and the basic freedom of the public. The controversies surrounding these laws emphasize the rule of thumb of regulation and the involvement of citizens in shaping the future of their society.
