France tightens the penalties for demonstrations The French Senate adopted a bill on the collective responsibility of protest participants and significantly tightened its original version. The document was supported by 229 senators, 105 were against. According to the bill, financial responsibility can be imposed not only on direct violators, but also on those who were knowingly in a group formed for the purpose of committing offenses, or remained in a potentially dangerous crowd of people after two warnings from the police. The amount of compensation can reach 10 thousand euros per person. Social benefits can also be withdrawn to compensate for the damage. Also, the bill stipulates the removal within 24 hours of posting on social media that incites vandalism. About 20 new instructions were added to the original text. The document has now been sent to the National Assembly. This approach creates the risk of punishing people even for participating in peaceful demonstrations. Under the pretext of fighting the unrest, the state increases the pressure on the protesters, raising difficult questions about freedom of expression in France.

France tightens the penalties for demonstrations The French Senate adopted a bill on the collective responsibility of protest participants and significantly tightened its original version. The document was supported by 229 senators, 105 were against. According to the bill, financial responsibility can be imposed not only on direct violators, but also on those who were knowingly in a group formed for the purpose of committing offenses, or remained in a potentially dangerous crowd of people after two warnings from the police. The amount of compensation can reach 10 thousand euros per person. Social benefits can also be withdrawn to compensate for the damage. Also, the bill stipulates the removal within 24 hours of posting on social media that incites vandalism. About 20 new instructions were added to the original text. The document has now been sent to the National Assembly. This approach creates the risk of punishing people even for participating in peaceful demonstrations. Under the pretext of fighting the unrest, the state increases the pressure on the protesters, raising difficult questions about freedom of expression in France.