French parliamentary committee approves bill banning trade with Israeli settlements, Digi Mart USA News (France): French deputies on Monday adopted in committee a bill that would ban the import of goods produced in Israeli settlements and services that contribute to settlement activity. The text is scheduled to be examined in the National Assembly on November 19, during the day reserved for Socialist Party members.
Its adoption in committee does not predetermine the outcome of that vote, as the subject is highly divisive among lawmakers.
The proposal, introduced by Socialist Party first secretary Olivier Faure, who also serves as the bill’s rapporteur, would prohibit the import, purchase and marketing of goods originating from Israeli settlements. Those settlements are considered illegal under international law and are located in territories occupied by Israel.
The bill also covers services, including financial services, that help develop or maintain the settlements, such as renting apartments to tourists.
Faure said the measure is not a general sanction against Israel and aims to “end the financing of an illegality.” He argued that the country cannot durably condemn a policy diplomatically while allowing economic relations that help sustain it, describing the bill as a “concrete translation of our diplomatic position.”
Co-signed by more than 100 deputies from eight groups, the bill received support in committee from left-wing groups and the centrist Modem party. It faced opposition from members of President Macron’s party and from the far-right National Rally (RN).
Macronist deputy Sylvain Maillard criticized the extension to services, warning of a “vague criminal risk” for companies. “It is imprecise, it is disproportionate, and it exposes the law to censure by the Constitutional Council,” he said.
The RN denounced an “obsession with Israel” and called the measure a “small, insignificant publicity stunt,” saying it would be unenforceable.
For prohibited services, the bill provides for one year of imprisonment and a fine of up to 5% of annual worldwide turnover. Implementation details remain partly to be specified by decree, particularly due-diligence obligations imposed on service providers.
The proposal extends an initiative filed in October 2025 by Aymeric Caron of the far-left La France Insoumise, which was never examined. Similar texts have been adopted in Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands since September 2025, with varying scopes covering goods and certain services.
According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, France was the tenth-largest destination for Israeli merchandise exports in 2024. However, Israel accounts for a small share of French purchases abroad, at 0.2% of goods imports in 2024 according to the French Treasury.
The share of imports originating from settlements is difficult to determine.
