On December 22, French National Assembly passed the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial. The number of votes ‘in favor’ and ‘against’ is not announced yet.

The vote followed the December 7 decision by the Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly to adopt the bill introduced by MP Valerie Boyer (UMP).

The draft law envisages a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros for those who publicly deny the Armenian Genocide in France.

Turkey has piled pressure on France to drop the law ahead of the vote, with President Abdullah Gul and a Turkish delegation to Paris warning its adoption will spark a diplomatic crisis and have economic consequences.