Bill will criminalise homophobia, sexism in France
Publish date: 15 December 2004
Issue Number: 1239
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Labour
France\'s National Assembly has given a second reading to a Bill that will make sexist or homophobic comments illegal and forbid job discrimination against homosexuals.
The Independent reports the Bill, which will become law if approved unchanged by the Senate, the upper house, later this month, extends existing penalties for racist abuse to all insults made for reasons of \'gender or sexual orientation or handicap\'. The Bill has, however, been stoutly resisted by right-wing members of the president\'s own centre-right party, the UMP, one of whom said that he could see nothing wrong in homophobia. Full report in The Independent
