French Senate backs ‘Rioters Pay’ bill that could make protesters pay $11,000 fines

France's Senate has passed a bill that would hold rioters financially accountable for damages, as the country grapples with public unrest.

Under the so-called "Rioters Pay" bill, protesters could be ordered to pay up to 10,000 euros ($11,140) "for the compensation of damages resulting from crimes and offenses committed by force or violence." Welfare payments could also be seized to cover costs.

France's government is grappling with nationwide violent protests while trying to slash bloated state spending. The protests, which began as a student movement, have broadened into wider public unrest, with demonstrators' demands ranging from greater investment in education to help with the cost of living.

The unrest hit boiling point earlier this month, when protests descended into rioting, looting and violent clashes with police. Further demonstrations are expected this weekend.

On Oct. 21, French Economy Minister Roland Lescure said in an interview that the violence and unrest had caused "tens or perhaps hundreds of millions" of euros worth of damage.

Senators approved the "Rioters Pay" bill on Wednesday, with 229 lawmakers voting for and 105 voting against.

The government first submitted the bill to the Senate on Sept. 16. It needs to pass through the National Assembly, parliament's lower house, to become law.

People could be held liable for damage they did not personally cause, under the proposed law, if they knowingly participated in a group formed to carry out violence or property damage or if they remained in a violent public gathering despite police warnings.

The proposals have drawn criticism from rights groups. Nathalie Godard, director of the action department at Amnesty International France, said in a statement that the bill "threatens to further deter people from exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly."

"Holding protesters responsible – and making them pay – for acts committed by others creates a risk of arbitrary punishment and would be contrary to France's international obligations," she said.

Speaking in the Senate this week, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez – one of the three ministers who submitted the bill – urged lawmakers to back the proposals, saying: "We can no longer allow the majority of our citizens to pay for a minority of rioters."

French lawmakers are in the process of negotiating a fiscal budget for 2027, with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu targeting 54 billion euros ($61.8 billion) in spending cuts.

The country is currently subject to the EU's excessive deficit procedure, with the bloc wanting Paris to bring its national deficit closer to 3% of GDP by 2029, compared with 5.1% in 2025.

French governments have collapsed when spending disagreements came to a head in recent years – Lecornu himself resigned less than a month into his tenure over budget divisions, only to be reappointed by President Emmanuel Macron days later.

Concerns over France's fiscal credibility have put pressure on the French bond market, with government borrowing costs hitting a 24-year high in recent weeks.