Thousands protest in France against ‘licence to kill’ draft law

Thousands of people marched in Paris and other French cities on Sunday against a proposed law on the legitimate use of force that critics say would be a “licence to kill” for police and gendarmes. In July, deputies in the National Assembly approved the Bill, which says that any law-enforcement official who uses force is assumed to have acted legally in using their weapon. 
It now faces a vote in the Senate. Politicians, rights groups and other activists joined others marching at the protest, among them Mathilde Panot of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party. "The police kill already," Panot told the crowd, calling for the bill to be voted down in the Senate. "In the Republic there can be no organised police impunity," she added. "In the Republic, there cannot be a category of citizens who have the right of life or death over other citizens."

PARIS : Des incidents éclatent à la Nation en marge de la manifestation contre la loi instaurant une présomption de légitime défense pour les forces de l'ordre. Des grenades lacrymogènes sont tirées par la police. (@lola_baille)pic.twitter.com/oUEAXZThrA

— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises) September 20, 2026

Amnesty International, France's magistrates' union and the country's League of Human Rights also took part in the protest.Scores of other marches against the bill were organised in cities around France this weekend. Police said 4,500 people had rallied in Lyon and 3,700 in Toulouse. In the city of Rennes, officials said eight people were arrested and three police officers injured after projectiles were thrown at them.  "In a country where police abuse is among the worst, this law risks worsening the situation," said one protester, a high school student who gave his first name as Hugo.
A petition opposing the legislation on the National Assembly’s website collected around 730,000 signatures, although a parliamentary law committee rejected it in July. Defenders of the bill say it would avoid law enforcement officers automatically coming under suspicion or being detained when using armed force.