On Tuesday two separate groups of French politicians who oppose the legislation -- from both the Senate and the lower house of parliament -- said they had formally requested the constitutional council to examine the law.
The groups said they each had gathered more than the minimum 60 signatures required to ask the council to test the law's constitutionality.
"This is an atomic bomb for the Elysee (Sarkozy's office) which didn't see it coming," said deputy Lionel Tardy, who said that most of the 65 signatories from the lower house were, like him, from Sarkozy's UMP party.
Note EU-Digest: whatever the arguments are about this proposed and controversial law - the issue mainly relates to, on the one hand, constitutionally established French laws on freedom of speech, and on the other hand, the infringement this law could have on it. Passing this so-called genocide law would certainly put a blemish on what the rest of the world considers one of the highest ideals embodied in the French revolution: liberté, égalité, fraternité. This famous phrase obviously also greatly impacts on the right to freedom of speech. By throwing this undemocratic genocide law off the table France would not only show the World it still respects its hard fought revolutionary and democratic ideals, but in the same breath also teach the two countries in question ( Armenia and Turkey) a lesson or two about the importance of freedom of speech.
For more: AFP: France's Armenia genocide law put on hold
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