French deputies adopt police self-defense presumption as petition against it tops 500,000

Bill adopted amid uproar

On Tuesday 7 July, the French National Assembly adopted in first reading a proposal recognising a presumption of legitimate defence for law enforcement officers using their firearms. The text, originating with senator Pauget (Les Républicains), was passed by 313 votes to 199 with backing from the government, the presidential majority and the far-right Rassemblement National. Left-wing deputies had attempted to block the vote with hundreds of last-minute amendments; the government invoked Article 44.3 of the Constitution to limit amendments to those it proposed or accepted.

What the law changes

The single-article bill states that police and gendarmes are "presumed to have acted" within the law when they fire their weapons in situations already defined in law, such as attacks on life or physical integrity. The presumption is rebuttable: it can be overturned by contrary evidence. Critics argue this reverses the burden of proof, forcing victims' families to prove an officer should not have shot. The left denounced it as a "killer's licence".

Tomorrow, you will no longer have an investigation automatically opened if an armed intervention resulted in serious injury or death. The family will have to manage to trigger that investigation.

Petition surges past 500,000

By Thursday 9 July, a petition on the Assembly's own website had gathered over 500,000 signatures against the law. The threshold activates a procedure that could oblige a debate in the chamber, though the bill has already been transmitted to the Senate. The petition text notes that France has the highest number of people killed or injured by public force agents in the EU and that the law risks increasing these figures. Mathilde Panot, head of the LFI group, celebrated the milestone.

We have just reached the 500,000 signatory mark against the killer's license XXL law! We demand a debate in the National Assembly.

Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon accused the far left of "scandalous political instrumentalization" and of spreading "disinformation" about the bill.

Next steps

Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet noted that if a petition triggers a debate, "it can take place," but warned that "everything must not clash." The bill now moves to the Senate, where it will face further scrutiny. Left-wing groups vowed to maintain pressure, while the right and centre defend the measure as protecting officers from systematic suspicion.