National Assembly Approves Ripost Bill in First Reading

Overview

• The Assembly voted 366 to 182 on Wednesday to pass Ripost in first reading and the text now goes to a commission mixte paritaire where deputies and senators will try to agree a final version before a possible definitive vote around July 21.
• Lawmakers restored measures that criminalise organising free parties with penalties up to two years in prison and €30,000 and that make participation an offence punishable by six months in prison or a €500 fixed fine, while lowering the declaration threshold from 500 to 250 people.
• The bill creates new nitrous oxide offences including a one‑year inhalation offence and harsher driving penalties up to three years and €9,000, and it keeps a sale ban to private individuals but delays that ban’s entry into force until February 1, 2027 to respect EU rules.
• Ripost extends and widens investigatory and surveillance tools by prolonging algorithmic video‑surveillance to 2030, expanding automatic licence‑plate reading and data retention to one year, and letting some police and gendarmes search vehicles and baggage up to 40 km from borders without a prosecutor’s requisition.
• Rights groups, unions and addiction specialists warn the package will criminalise vulnerable people and push users away from care while political lines are split with the far right backing the government and left parties calling the text overly repressive, a divide reflected in coverage that ranges from neutral summaries to sharp criticism.