France tightens protection for police - National Assembly approves controversial firearms rule

France has taken another step in a debate that has been controversial for years over police violence and internal security. On July 7, 2026 the National Assembly adopted in first reading a law intended to grant police officers and gendarmes expanded legal protection when using their firearms. The government describes the reform as a necessary safeguard for security forces. Critics, by contrast, see it as a significant weakening of rule-of-law oversight mechanisms and warn of far-reaching consequences for the judicial examination of fatal police operations. Before the law can come ...