05 January 2012, 23:00
French Senate to vote on the bill criminalizing denial of genocide in late January
The French government has decided to submit the bill, which assumes criminal punishment for denial of Armenian genocide, to the Senate in the end of January, said Patrick Olier, the French Minister for Relations with the Parliament.
"The bill will be considered by the Senate in the last week of January," Mr Olier said on January 4.
After adoption of the bill by the French National Assembly, Turkey recalled its ambassador from Paris for consultations. On January 3, the Turkish authorities reported that the ambassador would return to Paris in order to affect French authorities and convince them not to submit the bill to the Senate.
In France itself, the government was criticized for being in no hurry to submit the bill to the Senate. If it is not put on the agenda in January, it means that the law will not be adopted: starting from February the agenda is blocked before the new parliamentary elections, the RFI Agency reports.
At the same time, some members of the French government, including Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, have expressed concern about the possible adoption of the bill. Mr Juppe, in particular, described the bill as "useless and unproductive," and predicted severe consequences for the French-Turkish relations, in case it is adopted, the BBC reports.
