French lawmakers back police shootings law called ‘licence to kill’ by critics

French lawmakers have approved a proposed law that would give police officers involved in shootings the benefit of the doubt, which critics have dubbed a “licence to kill”.

The proposition, a longstanding demand of the far-right, would mean an officer who killed someone by shooting would be presumed to have acted within the limits of the law unless there was proof to the contrary.

The law was approved by 313 votes to 199 in the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, on Tuesday night. The government has lent its support to the law, which needs to be voted on by the upper house.

The number of fatal shootings by police in France is among the highest in Europe and rising. The agencies that carry out investigations of police in France, the IGPN and IGGN, recorded 69 people killed by police or gendarmerie officers in 2024, compared with 49 in 2023 and 50 in 2022.

Proponents of the law, including interior minister Laurent Nunez, said it is an important measure to protect police officers who work in dangerous conditions. Critics said it will lead to more killings and deny justice to victims’ families.

Marie-Laure Geoffray of Amnesty International said the law would slow down investigations into police violence and the burden of proof would fall on the families of victims.

Defending the law, Nunez told parliament: “It does not lead to penal irresponsibility. At any moment, if the circumstances are reunited, any prosecutor can reverse this presumption.”

The French government has come under pressure from activists and the public over repeated allegations of police violence and harassment, largely against black and Arab men and boys, with some cases, such as the killing of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk in 2023, sparking nationwide riots.

A 2017 law expanded the scenarios in which police officers could use their firearms to include when they were unable to stop a vehicle, which academics found led to a fivefold rise in the number of fatal police shootings involving moving vehicles.

“There will be more deaths. If you authorise someone to use their firearm with the idea they won’t be accountable, then they will just shoot,” said Pouria Amirshahi, a left-wing lawmaker. “This law grants police impunity.”

More than 360,000 people have signed a petition against the law on the National Assembly website launched by Issam El Khalfaoui, whose son was shot dead by a police officer in 2021.

Reuters