Law on assisted dying: Chenu criticizes constitutional review initiated by Lecornu

Paris – 16 July 2026: Following the final adoption by the National Assembly of the law on the right to assisted dying, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced a review by the Constitutional Council. National Rally MP Sébastien Chenu sharply criticized the move on Thursday on France 2 television. He described the referral to the highest constitutional body as a sign of political indecision.

The National Assembly adopted the bill on Wednesday, 15 July, in its final reading. This was preceded by a lengthy parliamentary process: the Senate repeatedly rejected the text, while MPs confirmed and revised it in several readings. In May, a joint committee of both chambers failed to reach an agreement. The National Assembly therefore constitutionally had the final say.

Under clearly defined conditions, the law establishes a right to assisted dying. It is intended for adults capable of making decisions who have a serious and incurable illness, whose suffering cannot be relieved, and whose state of health is considered progressive or irreversible. The procedure must be medically assessed, documented, and subject to time safeguards. In parallel, a law on broader access to palliative care was adopted in May.

Lecornu justifies the referral to the Constitutional Council not as a fundamental rejection of the law. According to information from government sources, the judges are primarily to assess individual procedural safeguards. These include the relationship between the freedom of conscience of medical staff and institutions that refuse to provide assisted dying, as well as the legal regulation of access to the new service.

Chenu, Vice-President of the National Assembly and National Rally MP, opposed this approach. His criticism is directed less at the formal possibility of constitutional review than at its political timing. The essence of his objection is that the Prime Minister first pushes a key social-policy decision through Parliament and then leaves its contentious issues to constitutional judges.

From an institutional perspective, however, referral to the Constitutional Council is a standard instrument of preventive review of laws. Before a law is promulgated, such a review may be requested by, among others, the Prime Minister, the presidents of both chambers of Parliament, as well as at least sixty MPs or senators. The Constitutional Council may uphold individual provisions, declare them unconstitutional, or permit them only under a particular interpretation.

The decision on the assisted dying law will therefore be assessed not only through the lens of a fundamental social issue, but also according to the legal precision of its protective mechanisms. The voluntary nature of the request, medical assessment, the role of relatives, and the protection of vulnerable persons remain particularly sensitive. Only after the Constitutional Council’s decision can the law be promulgated and its practical implementation prepared.