{
  "id": 8783182,
  "title": "Thousands march in France against ‘licence to kill’ draft law",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/thousands-march-in-france-against-licence-to-kill-draft-law-8783182",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-20T21:15:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/09/21/thousands-march-in-france-against-licence-to-kill-draft-law"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Thousands of individuals took to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Sunday to protest against a proposed law on the legitimate use of force by police and gendarmes. Critics argue that the bill would grant police a \"license to kill.\" The bill, approved by deputies in July, presumes that any law-enforcement official using force is acting legally when employing their weapon. It is now set to be voted on in the Senate.\n\nActivists, politicians, and rights groups joined the demonstration in Paris, including Mathilde Panot of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party. Panot addressed the crowd, calling for the bill to be rejected in the Senate. She emphasized that the Republic should not allow organized police impunity or a category of citizens with the right to life or death over others.\n\nAmnesty International, France's magistrates' union, and the League of Human Rights also participated in the protest. One marcher, Amal Bentousi, whose brother was shot by police in 2012, described the bill as a \"license to execute\" that would reverse the burden of proof in such incidents.\n\nThe bill aims to clarify the circumstances under which police use force, preventing officers from being immediately suspected or detained. However, opponents argue that it could lead to increased police violence. A petition against the bill, which gathered 730,000 signatures, was dismissed by a parliamentary law committee in July.\n\nDefenders of the bill claim it would avoid officers being automatically blamed or detained when using armed force. However, demonstrators in Marseille expressed concern that the law could exacerbate police abuse, which is already a significant issue in the country. A high school student named Hugo highlighted this concern during the protest in Marseille.\n\nFrench Interior Minister Laurent Nunez urged police to be \"particularly vigilant\" during the protests due to fears of incidents. In the city of Rennes, eight people were arrested, and three police officers were injured after projectiles were thrown at them.",
  "summary": "The proposed law says any law-enforcement official who uses force is assumed to have acted legally when using their weapon.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Local France",
        "title": "Thousands march in France against 'licence to kill' draft law",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/thousands-march-in-france-against-licence-to-kill-draft-law",
        "published": "2026-09-20T15:09:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Thousands march in France against ‘licence to kill’ draft law",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/thousands-march-in-france-against-licence-to-kill-draft-law-8740089",
        "published": "2026-09-20T17:55:21.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Thousands march in France against ‘licence to kill’ draft law",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/thousands-march-in-france-against-licence-to-kill-draft-law-8779220",
        "published": "2026-09-20T21:15:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "RFI English",
        "title": "Thousands march in France against 'licence to kill' draft law",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/thousands-march-in-france-against-licence-to-kill-draft-law",
        "published": "2026-09-21T00:27:05.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}