A group of French senators said Tuesday they had asked the constitutional council to examine a new law that punishes denial of the Armenian genocide, effectively suspending the legislation. Turkey reacted furiously last week when the Senate approved the law which threatens with jail anyone in France who denies that the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide.
President Nicolas Sarkozy's office last Tuesday brushed off angry threats of retaliation by Turkey and vowed to enforce the law within a fortnight. But the left-wing group of senators said Tuesday they had gathered 76 signatures from senators opposed to the law, more than the minimum 60 required to ask the council to examine the law's constitutionality.
The council is obliged to deliver its judgement within a month, but this can be reduced to eight days if the government deems the matter urgent. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denounced the law as "tantamount to discrimination and racism".
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