France adopts assisted dying law after years of debate, becoming sixth country to legalise euthanasia

The vote

On 15 July 2026, the French National Assembly definitively adopted the bill creating a right to assisted dying, with 291 votes in favour, 241 against, and 29 abstentions. The vote was the fourth and final reading in the lower house, following three rejections by the Senate. No party imposed a voting discipline, leaving each deputy to decide according to conscience. The public gallery was packed, and Assembly president Yaël Braun-Pivet was visibly moved.

It is a great text for our Republic, long awaited by our compatriots.

What the law allows

The legislation permits adults with incurable, life-threatening illnesses at an advanced stage to request lethal medication under strict medical supervision. Five cumulative conditions must be met: being of age, French nationality or stable residence, suffering from a grave and incurable condition with a short-term vital prognosis, experiencing pain that is either refractory to treatment or deemed unbearable by the patient, and being capable of expressing a free and informed will. Psychological suffering alone is not sufficient. The patient must self-administer the substance, but a doctor or nurse may assist if the patient is physically unable.

A tightly regulated procedure

The law sets out a multi-step process. The patient must make the request in person to a doctor; teleconsultation is excluded. The physician verifies the conditions, informs the patient about palliative care options and the right to withdraw at any time, and then the patient confirms the request in writing. A collegial panel of health professionals reviews the case, and the doctor must issue a decision within 15 days. The patient chooses the location for administration. A separate law strengthening palliative care was adopted a few weeks earlier, and both texts will now be examined by the Constitutional Council, which has up to one month to rule. If approved, the law is expected to enter into force in 2027.

Political fault lines

The vote cut across traditional party lines. The left-wing France Insoumise voted overwhelmingly in favour (61 for, 2 against, 3 abstentions), with Sophia Chikirou among the two opponents. The far-right Rassemblement National mostly opposed (106 against, 12 for), though vice-president Sébastien Chenu voted in favour, saying he wanted to "establish the principle of access to this freedom to end one's life with dignity." Marine Le Pen voted against. The centre-right Union des Droites pour la République, founded by Éric Ciotti, was unanimously opposed. Renaissance deputy Michel Lauzzana, a doctor, called it "the culmination of a long collective effort." LR deputy Émeline Rey-Rinchet, an osteopath, rejected the bill as "too permissive" and "too premature."

As a therapist, I see medicine as care, not as death.

International echo

Foreign media described the reform as a profound social shift. France becomes the sixth country to legalise euthanasia, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal. Switzerland has permitted the practice since 1942, and a dozen US states allow medical aid in dying. Le Temps saw the adoption as "proof that French democracy can still function despite the culture war," noting that the intimate and emotional nature of the subject was respected through the free vote.

The freedom of vote remained total in all political groups. Everyone was able to vote according to conscience.

What comes next

The bill now heads to the Constitutional Council for mandatory review. If validated, it will be promulgated and take effect in 2027. The government has exercised discretion throughout the final stages, while President Emmanuel Macron, who made the reform a signature promise of his second term, sees it as a legacy achievement as he enters the final stretch of his presidency.