Should Denial of the Armenian Genocide be Penalized? Le Figaro Asks

French daily Le Figaro posted a question on its site today in which it asks whether denial of the Armenian Genocide should be penalized. Recall, on Dec. 22, French lawmakers will be voting on a bill that will make denial of the Armenian Genocide a crime punishable under French law.

Thus far, 58.17% of voters believe that genocide denial should be penalized, while 41.83% do not.

The voting is not the first time France has mulled over criminalizing the denial of the events as genocide, as the French National Assembly adopted a bill in 2006, proposing that anyone who denied the Armenian Genocide would be punished, but the bill was dropped the same year before coming to the senate.

Since France officially recognized the genocide in 2001, French governments have attempted to introduce penalties for denying the Armenian Genocide several times, all of which were turned down before gaining full force.