Senator Isabelle Pasquet characterized the Armenian Genocide bill as Nicolas Sarkozy’s attempt to garner votes of the Armenian community before the oncoming presidential race.

As she noted during French Senate-hosted debate on a bill penalizing Genocide denial, “the bill, which has long turned into an apple of discord, is not centered solely around the Armenian Genocide denial issue.”

“Genocide denial must be penalized. We have to take efforts to curb the denial policy; however, the issue cannot be resolved on such short notice,” she stressed.

Dwelling on the policy of Turkish authorities, the Senator noted that “official Ankara’s policy proved utter absence of the freedom of speech in the country.”