France’s upper house of parliament, the Senate, will vote this month on a bill to outlaw denial of the Armenian Genocide despite a furious diplomatic spat with Turkey, a government official told AFP.

On December 22, 2011, French National Assembly passed a bill criminalizing public denial of the Armenian Genocide. If passed and signed into law by the Senate, the bill would impose a 45,000 euro fine and a year in prison for anyone in France who denies this crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador to Paris, but officials say he may return shortly in order to lobby against the bill and has threatened sanctions.