A Paris court has referred a key constitutional question over France's controversial " terrorism apology " law to the Constitutional Council in the case of left-wing political figure Anasse Kazib , a move supporters hailed as a significant procedural victory against the criminalisation of pro-Palestine advocacy.
The decision postpones Kazib's trial for several months while the Constitutional Council considers the legal challenge.
Campaigners argue the referral is the first major breakthrough in efforts to challenge the use of the offence, which has increasingly been deployed against politicians, trade unionists and activists expressing solidarity with Palestinians since Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Kazib is being prosecuted over a series of posts on X in which he expressed solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and described Israel as a "bloodthirsty state" responsible for "apartheid" against Palestinians.
During Thursday's hearing, his defence challenged the participation of several civil parties in the case, including the pro-Israel group French Jewish Youth (JFJ), arguing it should not have been admitted because it allegedly does not meet the legal requirements for associations to join criminal proceedings, including the minimum five-year existence requirement.
"The acceptance of this priority preliminary ruling on the civil parties who come to spread propaganda for the genocide and criminalise us in the courts is a major political victory first and foremost for support for Palestine, in order to put a stop to these methods of judicial brutality designed to intimidate voices opposed to the genocide in Gaza," Kazib wrote on social media after the hearing.
Nearly 1,000 people gathered outside the Tribunal de Paris in the capital's 17th arrondissement, according to organisers, welcoming the court's decision as the trial was adjourned.
Speaking to reporters outside court, Kazib said the legislation was being used systematically to "create a judicial and police cabal against all those who are opposed to the genocide in course in Gaza and who are opposed to the policies of the Israeli state."
The offence of "apology for terrorism" forms part of France's anti-terrorism legislation and criminalises publicly encouraging terrorist acts or presenting such acts or their perpetrators in a favourable light. Convictions can carry prison sentences of up to seven years and fines of up to €100,000.
The offence, however, is drafted so broadly that it has become a tool to suppress political speech, particularly expressions of support for Palestinians that they say are wrongly conflated with support for terrorism.
Kazib, a railway worker, trade unionist and political activist of Moroccan descent, is the spokesperson for Revolution Permanente, a far-left Trotskyist movement founded in 2022 following a split from the New Anticapitalist Party.
Earlier this month, he announced his intention to stand in France's 2027 presidential election, describing his campaign as "a working-class, communist and revolutionary candidacy". He previously attempted to run in 2022 but failed to secure the 500 endorsements required to qualify.
French MEP Rima Hassan, of the left-wing France Unbowed party, is also under investigation under the same "terrorism apology" law.
In April, Hassan was detained by police for several hours over social media posts relating to Palestinian resistance. Prosecutors later summoned her to appear before a criminal court on 7 July.