Following severe urban violence on October 17, 2026, the French Senate passed the strict casseurs-payeurs
bill in an overnight vote. The measure introduces financial liability for indirect participants and allows the seizure of social benefits, drawing strong opposition and concerns over civil liberties.
The legislative push cleared the Senate chamber by a vote of 229 to 105 in the early hours of Wednesday, October 28, 2026, after more than six hours of debates. Billed by the government as an urgent response to widespread property destruction following the events of October 17, the text originally contained five articles drafted during the summer after the disturbances that followed the European coronation of PSG. The text left the upper house significantly expanded. Senators added roughly twenty new security provisions during a debate marked by tense exchanges between the conservative majority and left-wing opposition.
Financial Liability for Indirect Participants
At the center of the legislation is a new standard of civil solidarity. The state can pursue individuals who knowingly participated in a group formed to commit damage or who remained in an unlawful assembly after police issued two formal orders to disperse. Bruno Retailleau, pilier de la droite sénatoriale and a Les Républicains presidential candidate, championed the initiative. He drew on his 2018 legislative experience with previous anti-rioter rules to push for a firm stance against troublemakers.
This broadens liability beyond direct vandals. An individual can be held financially responsible for public damages up to a limit of 10,000 euros even without proof of direct property destruction. Sébastien Lecornu defended the approach. He argued that taxpayers should not repeatedly bear the repair costs when public funds are already strained.
Interior minister Laurent Nuñez defended the text as a matter of common sense. The measure addresses the destruction affecting more than 2,500 businesses according to accounts cited by CCI France, or roughly 3,000 according to other figures. Centrist corapporteur Olivier Bitz defended the framework against family liability criticisms. David Margueritte of Les Républicains insisted that the framework actually protects the right to protest by cracking down on destructive elements that overshadow social grievances.
Seizing Social Benefits to Pay Damages
During a second deliberation, senators reinforced provisions allowing the state to recover damages directly from social welfare. The scope includes family allowances, housing assistance, the active solidarity income known as RSA, family supplements, school start-up allowances, and employment bonuses. The upper house incorporated several other security measures into the bill. These additions include procedures to request the removal of online content inciting property damage within 24 hours.
Constitutional Concerns Raised in Parliament
Left-wing lawmakers and civil rights groups fiercely opposed the legislation. They warned that penalizing presence rather than proven acts undermines the freedom to demonstrate.
Ecologist lawmaker Mélanie Vogel criticized the executive. She argued that the government responded to social demands with collective punishment and instrumentalisant shopkeepers.
Left-wing senator Gabriel Amard stated via X that the law of suspicion will never make a Republic of trust. Communist senator Fabien Gay denounced the legislation. He called it a legal miscarriage that deliberately confuses demonstrators with rioters, comparing it to 1980s far-right security programs, and calculated that seizing the RSA from modest households to pay off a 10,000-euro debt would take fourteen years.
Fabien Gay, Communist lawmaker, said that it was A legal miscarriage that intentionally confuses demonstrators and rioters.
Laurent Nuñez announced that the government would consult the Council of State. He stated that the administration would consult the Council of State to verify whether the text maintains an appropriate balance between public solidarity and individual reparation.
National Assembly members from the Rassemblement National welcomed the legislation as a response to the recent disturbances.
National Assembly Review
The legislation now heads to the National Assembly, where political fragmentation and strong opposition from left-wing factions promise difficult debates ahead of upcoming parliamentary deadlines.
The Senate last debated comparable fiscal responsibility measures during the 2018 urban unrest.
