France: Lawmakers must reject regressive “Rioters Pay” bill
France’s proposed bill to make demonstrators pay for damage caused to property by acts of violence in street protests, even if they did not directly cause it themselves, will have a chilling effect on freedom of peaceful assembly and must be rejected by lawmakers, Amnesty International said ahead of a two-day debate in the Senate.
If passed, the legislation commonly referred to as the “Rioters Pay” bill, could hold individuals liable for acts they did not personally commit, provided they ‘knowingly’ participated in a gathering where acts of violence, theft, destruction, or property damage took place. A protester could be liable to pay up to 10,000 euros; in addition, social benefits could be seized if compensation is not paid, which risks plunging already marginalised families further into poverty. Parents may also be held civilly liable for acts that their children did not commit.
“This bill, coming on the back of a series of legal amendments to restrict the right of protest in France, threatens to further deter people from taking to the streets to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said Nathalie Godard, Director of the Action Department at Amnesty International France