Palais de l'Elysee has responded to the French-Armenian Association's petition regarding adoption of a bill penalizing the Armenian Genocide denial, which was one of French President Francois Hollande's campaign promises.
According to Nouvelles d'Armenie, after several months of expectation, the Armenia Association received a response from the staff of the French President on July 23.
The letter addressed to the Armenia Association Chairman Krikor Amirzayan says that Francois Hollande received the statement concerning criminalization of the Armenian Genocide denial. The letter also points out that by adopting the 29 Jan 2001 law, France recognized the gravity of the atrocities against the Armenian people. France's National Education Minister Vincent Peillon said on 24 April 2013 that in accordance with the commitments assumed by the French President, the Government wants to find legal bases that do not run counter to the Constitution, so that no one could denigrate the Armenian people's suffering or deny what happened, the letter says.
To note, over the past few months the Armenia Association initiated a campaign of petitions demanding that French President Francois Hollande should keep his campaign promise concerning the penalization of the Armenian Genocide denial. The petition signed by hundreds of people was sent to Palais de l'Elysee on April 24.