The Law on the Freedom of the Press of 29 July 1881 guarantees freedom of the press, subject to several prohibitions. Article 24 prohibits anyone from publicly inciting another to discriminate against, or to hate or to harm, a person or a group for belonging or not belonging, in fact or in fancy, to an ethnicity, a nation, a race, a religion, a sex, or a sexual orientation, or for having a handicap. The penalty for violating this prohibition is up to a year of imprisonment and a fine of up to €45,000, or either one of those, as well as the suspension of some civil rights in some cases.
Articles 32 and 33 prohibit anyone from publicly defaming or insulting a person or group for belonging or not belonging, in fact or in fancy, to an ethnicity, a nation, a race, a religion, a sex, or a sexual orientation, or for having a handicap. The penalty for defamation is up to a year of imprisonment and a fine of up to €45,000, or either one of those punishments. The penalty for insult is up to six months of imprisonment and a fine of up to €22,500, or either one of those punishments.
Janssen, Esther (2009). “Limits to expression on religion in France” (PDF). Agama & Religiusitas di Eropa, Journal of European Studies, Volume V – nr. 1, 2009, pp. 22–45. Produced in cooperation between the University of Indonesia and the Delegation of the European Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
Décret no 2005-284 du 25 mars 2005 relatif aux contraventions de diffamation, d’injure et de provocation non publiques à caractère discriminatoire et à la compétence du tribunal de police et de la juridiction de proximité (in French)
Loi no 72-546 du 1 juillet 1972 relative à la lutte contre le racisme (in French).
“France’s law on hate speech gets a thumbs down”. EDRi. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
“France: Analysis of draft hate speech bill”. Article 19. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
“What’s Going on With France’s Online Hate Speech Law?”. Lawfare. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
Cour d’appel de Versailles, 18 March 1998, N° 1996-2195, on legifrance.gouv.fr.
“Houellebecq Acquitted of Insulting Islam”. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
Viscusi, Gregory (22 March 2007). “French Magazine Is Cleared Over Muhammad Cartoons (Update2)”.
Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 23 May2010.
Marithé & François Girbaud: Last supper
JURIST – Paper Chase: France newspaper cleared of defamation for Muhammad cartoons republication
Mahony, Honor (19 January 2007). “French far-right MEP fined for Holocaust remarks”.
euobserver.com. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
See the French Wikipedia article Affaire des propos de Bruno Gollnisch d’octobre 2004.
Affaire des propos de Y, Cour de cassation, Assemblée plénière, 16 February 2007, N° 06-81785, on legifrance.gouv.fr.
Crumley, Bruce (15 April 2008). “Is Brigitte Bardot Bashing Islam?”. Time. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
Bob Dylan faces French legal inquiry over Croat remarks.
“French court drops ‘hate speech’ case against Bob Dylan”. France 24. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.