FRANCE – Despite green light by the Assemblée: assisted dying remains a political pawn
06 August 2025
On 27 May 2025, after several days of intensive and largely balanced debate, the Assemblée voted on two bills at first reading, one on palliative care and one on assisted dying (“Aide à mourir”). Whilst the bill on palliative care was uncontroversial and got approved without any problems, the assisted dying bill was the subject of wrangling over wording and clarifications and there were numerous changes to the text. The final vote was nevertheless clear: 305 MPs voted in favour of the bill, 199 against. 57 MPs abstained from voting.
The proposal in brief
As it currently stands, the proposed law would, under strictly defined conditions, create the option of accessing legal, safe and professional help to end one’s own suffering and life in a self-determined manner if expressly requested.
In addition to being of legal age, capable of judgement and having French citizenship or residence in France, the prerequisites for assisted dying essentially would be a serious, incurable, advanced illness, the person’s firm and express wish to end their suffering and life, and medical authorisation. Persons with a purely psychological condition are excluded.
The law would allow assisted suicide, i.e. self-administering a lethal medication under medical supervision. In exceptional cases, if the person is physically unable to do so, the medication may be administered by a doctor.
The ball is now in the Senate’s court
With its detailed examination of “Aide à mourir” and its approval of the bill, the Assemblée has signalled to the French people that their wishes regarding self-determinedly shaping one’s own end of life are being taken seriously and that it wants to create concrete options. The matter is far from over though, as the ball is now in the conservative Senate’s court, which – at least according to current plans – will be examining the bill in detail as of 7 October 2025 and vote on it on 21 October. It will then be submitted to the Assemblée again.
Will there be sufficient time?
By the 2027 presidential elections at the latest, the bill needs to have passed the entire process and been approved. Whether this can be achieved is uncertain, as there are still many potential pitfalls. On the one hand, the bill could still undergo, in the Senate, significant changes and restrictions which the Assemblée does not support, or it could even be blocked altogether. In the event of a blockade, President Macron has not ruled out a referendum, which would take further time. On the other hand, it cannot be ruled out that there will be another change of government this autumn in connection with the nation’s budget debate, which may also lead to delays in the Senate’s schedule.
Time could thus be running out. For now, people living in France can only fulfil their wish to end their own lives resorting to risky and/or illegal methods at home, or by choosing the long and strenuous path abroad, in order to die in a legal, self-determined and safe manner.
