The Senate starts debating the 'casseurs-payeurs' bill today: liability up to €10,000, deductions from CAF benefits and an entry ban for foreigners. What the text says, and why nothing has changed yet

On Tuesday 27 October at 4:30 p.m., the French Senate opens its plenary debate on the bill the press calls 'casseurs-payeurs' ('those who break, pay'). Its official title is projet de loi relatif à la réparation des dommages résultant de violences ou de dégradations commises dans l'espace public et au recouvrement des dommages et intérêts. According to the Senate agenda, the debate continues on Wednesday 28 October.

The key point: no rule has changed today. The text is being debated, and senators can still amend it. Below is what the text currently says — the version adopted by the Senate's law committee on 21 October, which is the one going to the floor.

What the committee text provides

Civil liability of up to €10,000 (Article 1). Liability for damage, 'jointly and severally, up to €10,000' (solidairement), could fall on a person who:

• knowingly took part in a group of the kind covered by Article 222-14-2 of the Criminal Code — described during the committee debate as a group formed to smash, break or loot; liability covers violence, theft and destruction committed by group members at the same time and place;
• or voluntarily stayed in a crowd (attroupement) after the police's formal dispersal warnings (sommations), knowing that some of its members were at that moment committing violence, theft or destruction; this covers only acts committed after the warnings.

The committee added an exemption: someone who stayed for a legitimate reason (motif légitime) is not liable. Journalists, observers and people protecting their own shop were given as examples in the debate. It was also said in committee that merely being nearby is not enough — a person has to belong to the group.

Deductions from social benefits (Article 4). The text allows damages to be recovered from allocations familiales, housing aid (APL) and — added by the committee — RSA. Conditions: there must be a final court judgment, and the damage must result from a crime or délit. Other deductions take priority. The rapporteur said the usual rules on the minimum left to live on (reste à vivre) are preserved, with the amount to be set by decree.

Ban from French territory for foreign nationals (Article 1 ter). For a foreign national who committed the offence as an adult, the court imposes an additional penalty — interdiction du territoire français (ITF) — for up to 10 years. It applies to serious offences listed in the text: certain kinds of violence, theft and destruction. The court can decline to impose it only by a specially reasoned decision, taking into account the circumstances, the offender's personality and their personal and family situation. The existing protections in Article 131-30-2 of the Criminal Code remain in place under the text.

The text also raises the penalty for taking part in such a group from one year in prison and a €15,000 fine to three years and €45,000, and allows police, at a prosecutor's written request, to film protests with cameras mounted on aircraft.

How a bill becomes law

In France, every bill is examined in turn by both chambers: the Senate and the Assemblée nationale. Normally each holds two readings before a joint committee (commission mixte paritaire) of deputies and senators can be convened. For this text, the government triggered the accelerated procedure (procédure accélérée) on 16 September: the joint committee can be convened after a single reading in each chamber. So after the Senate, the text goes to the Assemblée nationale.

A law only takes effect once it is finally adopted and promulgated: the Constitution gives the President 15 days from when the finally adopted text is sent to the government. Where a decree is needed to apply it — as for the reste à vivre here — that part also waits for the decree.

What this means in practice

• No CAF benefit can be deducted on the basis of this text right now: there is no law. A letter or text message citing a 'new law' and demanding money over a protest is a reason to be suspicious and to check in your CAF online account.
• Look at the final text, not the first version. Wording often changes between the committee, the two chambers and the joint committee. You can follow it in the bill's file on senat.fr.
• Police dispersal warnings are a signal to leave. The text ties liability specifically to staying voluntarily after the sommations. Leaving straight away is a simple habit that helps at any protest.
• The stakes are higher for foreign nationals. Beyond money, the text includes an entry ban of up to 10 years for a range of serious offences. In criminal proceedings, the consequences for residence rights are best worked through with a lawyer.

We will follow the vote and report when the text is adopted or changed.