Politics. Yadan Law: petition gathers over 500,000 signatures against controversial text.

The petition against Deputy Caroline Yadan’s bill to combat “renewed forms” of anti-Semitism but accused of making an “amalgamation” with criticism of Israel has exceeded 500,000 signatures this Tuesday, paving the way for it to be debated in Parliament. This bill has sparked controversy, with observers fearing that it could silence criticisms of the Israeli government’s policies as it conducts military operations in Gaza, Iran, colonizes the West Bank, and recently launched a large-scale invasion in Lebanon.

After the petition against the controversial Duplomb law last year, this is the second petition on the National Assembly’s website to reach half a million signatures. This threshold allows the Conference of Presidents, which includes the president and vice presidents of the Assembly, the presidents of political groups, and committee presidents, to decide whether to examine the petition in a debate without a vote in the hemicycle.

This petition calls on deputies to oppose the adoption of this bill, which expands the crime of glorifying terrorism and creates a crime of calling for the destruction of a state. It will be examined in the Assembly’s hemicycle on April 16 and 17. “One can fear” that this text could “force judges to make an amalgamation between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in order to silence any criticism against Israel,” reads the petition filed on February 18 by a 26-year-old citizen who believes the text undermines the fight against anti-Semitism by equating Jews with Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies.

Yadan remains determined

Caroline Yadan, when asked, believes that “the petition is based on communication grounded in factual falsehoods,” indicating that the text resulting from the committee is not the one filed at the end of 2024 but takes into account the recommendations made by the State Council, which she has consulted. She affirms that “her determination is intact.”

The mobilization seems to weigh on the political balance of power. “The socialist group will vote against the Yadan bill,” wrote the first secretary of the PS Olivier Faure on Tuesday morning. “Decision made this morning almost unanimously.” Socialists are concerned about the “legal ambiguity” surrounding the text, which “misses its target” and establishes an “essentialization between French Jews and the State of Israel,” detailed one of the group’s spokespersons, Romain Eskenazi.

“In a real democracy, the text should simply be withdrawn from the agenda,” acknowledging the success of the petition, said Deputy LFI Gabrielle Cathala. MoDem, a government supporter, has also expressed reservations, advocating for its temporary removal from the agenda. “The geopolitical situation is not calm. However, for this type of text, we need calm and the ability to take a step back, so we are very cautious,” said the spokesperson for the group Perrine Goulet, proposing a “temporary withdrawal.”