Representatives of the French National Assembly voted on Wednesday (299 in favor and 226 against) on a proposed law related to palliative care and “assisted dying,” which would give some terminally ill patients the right to end their lives, while strengthening palliative care. The law raises widespread controversy among political forces and associations, and the draft law will be presented to the Senate so that France, if approved, will join other European countries that have adopted this step, such as Belgium and Switzerland.

Published on: 02/25/2026 - 12:57 Last updated: 02/26/2026 - 07:13

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French representatives voted on Wednesday (299 in favor and 226 against) on a proposed law related to palliative care and “assisted dying.” It is a sensitive societal reform that has been under discussion for several years.

The first version of the text received broad approval during the first reading, but some points of disagreement remained.

If the Senate approves the proposal, this will allow France to join Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, where the process of assisting patients to die, in some cases, has become permissible.

Representatives of the National Assembly had previously voted by a majority (305 votes to 199) on this proposal in May 2025, but the Senate rejected it, which made this text, proposed by centrist MP Olivier Falorni, return again to the corridors of Parliament.

“Assisted dying” is one of Macron’s election promises

After his re-election as president in 2022, Emmanuel Macron promised to launch a national debate on the topic of “assisted dying,” armed with the principle of respecting the dignity of patients.

In 2023, the so-called “Citizens’ Convention” was organized in a number of regions of the country. These are discussions in which specialist doctors, clerics, human rights organizations, psychologists, and other segments of society participated, with the aim of crystallizing this idea and coming up with acceptable proposals.

Read also: France: “Palliative care” and “assisted dying”... two draft laws that divide society and the political arena

Following these gatherings and discussions, some of which were intense due to the rift in the country on this issue, Emmanuel Macron pledged to present a draft law that strengthens palliative care services while establishing a regulated right to obtain assistance to end life for some patients according to strict conditions.

Contents of the “Assisted Dying” bill

The text allows adult patients who are fully and fully discerning and suffer from an incurable illness that is incurable in the short or medium term and for whom there is no way to alleviate their pain to “seek help with a view to dying.”

If any patient receives a positive collective opinion from a medical team and with the approval of his very close family, a lethal substance will be prescribed to the person concerned, who will be able to take it himself, or with the help of another person if he is “physically incapacitated.”

The proposal, the latest version of which dates back to 2016, also allows deep and continuous anesthesia for patients who have no hope of recovery in the short term and suffer from pain that cannot be alleviated. However, it does not allow assisted suicide or “euthanasia.”

Standards and conditions for “assisted dying”

There are 5 basic criteria that allow a patient to benefit from the right to assisted dying. Which are:

Contrast positions

There is no French consensus on "assisted dying", as it is a sensitive topic that mixes medical and ethical issues.

The majority of left-wing parties and associations defending human dignity and rights tend in favor of approving the text, unlike right-wing and far-right parties and religious associations, which reject the project for reasons that are often religious and because a person cannot decide on the life or death of another person.

According to this premise and the differences, the debate raged in the corridors of the French Parliament, which in turn showed a sharp division regarding this text. If the representatives of the National Assembly had voted by a large majority on this text (305 compared to 199) last May 2025, then the Senate, with a right-wing majority, refused to vote on the text.

The question is whether the amendments to the proposal, especially those related to palliative treatments, will convince members of both chambers to vote in favor of a text that the Catholic Church has been fighting?

Taher Hani

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