Today, the National Assembly of France is going to discuss a bill criminalizing the denial of the genocide. There is a big chance that it will be enacted. This was yesterday reported by a member of the French government, Minister of European Matters Jean Leonetti. He mentioned that the opposition socialists have decided to vote for the bill by jointly endorsing the UMP ruling party. “The Armenian Genocide is a historic fact and the bill that criminalizes its denial has got nothing to do with the upcoming elections,” said Leonetti. Let us recall that according to the bill if anyone denies the genocides recognized by France (it has officially recognized the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust) he/she will be sentenced to one year imprisonment and pay 45.000 Euros. It is possible to guess with what kind of enthusiasm the Armenian official and governmental propaganda will present the adoption of this bill by connecting it with the diplomatic victory of Armenia. Indeed, the adoption of this bill by the French parliament may have a positive outcome in the international recognition process of the Armenian Genocide. However, besides encouragement it is very important to note that France does not do this for the sake of the centennial friendship of France and Armenia or for any other lyrical motives. In spring presidential elections are due in France and the candidates will need the votes of the Armenian community. Besides that, there are a range of geopolitical and pan- European factors the combination of which instigates the French government collide with the Turkish resistance. This is an absolutely normal and a legitimate process for a political course of any country, the basis of which lays on pragmatic reasons that are absent in the Armenian foreign policy. The best evidence of this is perhaps the fact that France in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group has through its co- chair numerously uttered not very positive statements in relation to Armenia. But the Armenian government falls into a euphoria by the possibility of the adoption of the bill. It is noteworthy that the authors of the bill confess that if the Armenian Diaspora has made similar efforts to the regulations of the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict, then the negotiating position of Armenia would be in a much more favorable shape. However, since the Armenian government both domestically and internationally functions in the manner of a single “footage,” for them the adoption of the bill is more important than the actual development of the country.
