Sen. Esther Benbassa of the Green Party of France opposes the law penalizing Armenian Genocide denial, arguing that it would curtail academic discussion on the issue.

At Senate-hosted debate, Sen. Benbassa expressed concern that the adoption of the Genocide bill may negatively affect Armenian-Turkish relations.

“1915 massacres in Ottoman Empire is an undeniable fact; we expect a day will come for Turkey to accept its historic past,” she stressed.

Earlier, the party repeatedly urged against adoption of a bill, which, if passed and signed into law by the Senate, 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.