French MPs approve assisted dying bill - how it would work

French MPs have approved the creation of a right-to-die law, which could come into force by early 2027. 

On July 15, the bill received a clear majority of 291 votes to 241, with 29 abstentions. Most left-wing and Macronist MPs voted in favour, while right-wing MPs were against. You can see how each MP voted by checking the Assemblée nationale records. 

Both Emmanuel Macron and Laurent Panifous, minister for relations with Parliament, have praised the respect among MPs over the two years that the bill has been debated in parliament - with the proposed law having previously been rejected three times by the Senate. 

The debate has also received backlash from religious and ethical campaign groups. 

“The passing of the law on assisted dying is a major step forward for our society, as it responds to a very strong demand from the vast majority of the French people… My thoughts are with all those who have had to suffer terribly because this law did not exist,” said Marine Tondelier, national secretary of Les Écologistes in a Facebook post today (July 16). 

The health ministry must now publish several decrees and rules setting out the practical arrangements for assisted dying before the law can come into force.

“The regulatory measures necessary for the full implementation of reforms adopted by Parliament are drawn up and published within six months of a law’s enactment,” states Légifrance. 

This means that an assisted dying law in France could come into force early next year.

How would the law work?

The assisted dying bill would apply to people aged 18 and over, who are French nationals or French residents on a “stable and lawful basis,” and capable of “expressing their wishes freely and fully understand the facts.”

The law would allow patients suffering from a “serious and incurable condition” which is “life-threatening” and in an “advanced or terminal phase” to receive or administer a lethal substance to end their life.

Patients must also be experiencing physical and psychological suffering linked to their condition. This suffering must either be unresponsive to treatment or “unbearable, where [the patient has] chosen not to receive or to stop receiving treatment.”

The patient would need to get permission from their doctor, as well as approval by one other doctor and a caregiver within 15 days - however the bill also features a “conscience clause” for healthcare professionals who do not wish to take part in the procedure. Concerned doctors must instead provide their patients with the names of alternative healthcare professionals.

The patient must also observe a mandatory minimum two-day reflection period before confirming their decision. 

Media sources such as Franceinfo say the government and health workers are creating a form or survey for patients to complete when making their right-to-die request.

Information must be drafted for medical professionals to help determine what patients must be aware of if wishing to end their lives. 

The government will also have to select which pharmacies would be authorised to prepare the lethal substances. 

The Ministry of Health is consulting with France’s National Authority of Health (Haute Autorité de santé - HAS) to determine the composition of lethal substances. The HAS is also responsible for establishing how products should be prescribed and administered, as well as setting protocols in the event of complications. 

Assisted suicide means a patient would end their own life by taking a lethal drink or medication, while euthanasia means someone else would administer the legal substance if the patient is unable to do so independently.

Procedures would be fully covered by l'Assurance maladie, however product prices and service fees are still under discussion. 

French nationals already seeking assisted dying abroad

At least 158 French nationals died by euthanasia or assisted suicide in 2025 in Belgium (110) and Switzerland (48), where right-to-die laws are already in place.

Belgium’s figures are published by the Federal Commission for the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia. 

In Switzerland, Dignitas is the only assisted dying organisation to publish statistics, so it is likely that the total number of French nationals having sought assisted dying in Switzerland is higher than 48.

Figures in Switzerland have steadily increased over the last 25 years, with just two French patients in 2001, 15 in 2011, and 45 in 2021. 

The majority of patients were aged between 50 and 79, suffering from serious and incurable physical illnesses, and their ‘natural’ deaths were expected in the near future.