France: President Emmanuel Macron signs assisted dying law

Published on 19/08/2026 - 9:58 GMT+2•Updated 10:42

The Official Journal (source in French) has published the law on assisted dying, following its promulgation by President Emmanuel Macron. Parliament finally passed the text in mid-July.

The Constitutional Council had approved the creation of this new right, subject to several strict conditions.

The patient must be an adult, either a French national or living in France on a stable and regular basis, suffer from a serious and incurable illness that is terminal or "advanced", and be facing physical pain deemed unbearable. They must also be capable of making an informed choice right up to the last moment.

A healthcare professional may help the patient administer the lethal substance if the patient is physically unable to do so.

A doctor, working together with several stakeholders in the sector, will be responsible for deciding whether or not the patient meets the conditions required to access assisted dying.

Now that the law has been promulgated and published in the Official Journal, the government must still issue the implementing decrees before this new right can actually come into force.

Emmanuel Macron hailed a right "which crowns an exemplary democratic debate".

Former MoDem MP Olivier Falorni is behind the law. The current mayor of La Rochelle spoke of "a major step forward".

By contrast, the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, a Christian-inspired organisation, says it is "outraged", while the association "Les Éligibles et leurs aidants", a collective of patients, condemns "the absolute danger posed by this law to the most vulnerable".