French Senate committee clears 'rioters pay' bill with €10,000 compensation cap

France's Senate law committee, controlled by a right-wing and centrist alliance, approved the so-called "rioters pay" bill on Wednesday, clearing the way for a full Senate debate scheduled for 27 October.

The legislation would require those found responsible for vandalism during riots to pay up to €10,000 in compensation to the state, victims or insurers. A particularly contested provision would introduce collective civil liability, allowing a member of a group responsible for damage to be ordered to pay even without having caused it personally.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the bill as "absolutely essential" to ensure taxpayers are not repeatedly asked to cover damage caused during violent protests. The government approved the draft in mid-September, originally in response to violence following Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League victory in late May, and is now presenting it as a reply to last weekend's unrest, during which authorities put the cost of damage to shops and public buildings at several hundred million euros.

Legal experts have questioned whether collective liability is compatible with constitutional principles, including individual responsibility and the presumption of innocence enshrined in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

The hard-left France Unbowed group's leader Mathilde Panot called it "a weapon of mass repression against all demonstrations." National Rally presidential candidate Marine Le Pen welcomed the bill, saying anyone who destroys public property "must know that they will pay for it for the rest of their life."