Criminalizing BDS as a Hate Crime
“Lellouche Law”, Which Bans Discrimination Based on National Origin and has Been Applied to Cases of BDS
France has not enacted any anti-BDS laws, but the country has seen several legal battles against campaigners for boycotts of Israel.
In 2003, the Lellouche law named after Pierre Lellouche was enacted which outlaws discrimination based on a variety of immutable characteristics, including national origin. The law has been described by the left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz as "among the world's most potent tools to fight the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement" and as having "catapulted France to the forefront of efforts to counter the movement through legal means".
According to Pascal Markowicz, the head of the BDS legal task force of the group French Jewish communities, the law has resulted in France divesting less from Israel than other European countries.