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France’s top constitutional authority approved legislation on Friday on the right to assisted dying, but struck down a ban on social media access for children under 15 in a blow to one of President Emmanuel Macron’s cherished reforms.
Macron’s office hailed the Constitutional Council’s decision on the assisted dying law, seen as one of the major social reforms of his second term.
The ruling “completes an exemplary democratic debate,” the Élysée Palace said, adding that the legislation “provides an essential safeguard for our fellow citizens.”
At the same time his office said the president had no plans to give up on his push to bar children from apps such as TikTok and the government would work on a new draft law.
The legislation establishing a right to assisted dying for some adults suffering from an incurable condition was passed by parliament in July after years of debate.
The Constitutional Council’s ruling will see France join the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada, which have already legalised the practice.
The decision is a victory for Macron, who promised the law after his re-election in 2022, marking one of France’s biggest social reforms since same-sex marriage was legalised in 2012.
At the same time the constitutional authority found that certain provisions of the legislation required clarification, including the so-called conscience clause, which allows healthcare professionals to refuse to take part in the procedure.
The clause must also apply to private healthcare facilities where assisted dying is “manifestly contrary” to their mission, provided they are not the only establishments able to meet “local needs,” the constitutional authority said, meeting a key demand from Catholic healthcare institutions.
To be eligible for assisted dying, a patient must be of legal age and a French national or a long-term resident.
They must suffer from pain that is either unresponsive to treatment or, in the patient’s view, unbearable if they have chosen not to receive or to stop receiving treatment.
The patient will administer a lethal substance themselves, with exceptions for those who are physically unable to do so and can be helped by a healthcare worker.
‘Deadly poison for children’
But in a major setback to Macron, the constitutional authority struck down a ban on social media access for children under 15.
The Constitutional Council found that Article 1 of the legislation “constitutes an infringement that is neither appropriate, necessary, nor proportionate” to the freedom of expression and communication of those under 15.
In its ruling, the Constitutional Council also expressed concern about the potential impact on privacy of introducing an age-verification system for all users.
The law, which was due to take effect on 1 September, would have barred younger users from social networks such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, among other restrictions.
The French government had promoted the ban as a way to better protect young people from the harmful effects associated with social media platforms, including anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and online harassment.
Macron had thanked members of parliament in July for backing the legislation and pledged to enforce it by September.
After the ruling, the Élysée said Macron had tasked Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu with working on a new “legally robust draft” of the legislation.
Lecornu will have to work “as quickly as possible” on a draft that takes into account both the Constitutional Council’s ruling and the European regulatory framework, the Élysée Palace said.
The presidency said Macron’s determination to see the reform implemented remained undiminished.
Macron’s former prime minister Gabriel Attal, who backed the proposal, expressed his disappointment.
“We take note of it and respect this decision, which applies to everyone,” he said in a post on X, vowing to continue fighting against what he described as “a deadly poison for our children.”
The Constitutional Council did not rule on a separate provision banning mobile phone use in high schools from 1 September.
A growing number of countries are taking steps to restrict social media access amid multiplying warnings over its harmful effects on children.
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