French parliamentary committee bill to ban imports of Israeli settlement products, Digi Mart USA News (France): French lawmakers adopted in committee on Monday, November 9, a bill that would ban the importation of products from Israeli settlements and services that contribute to settlement activity. The proposal, carried by Socialist Party first secretary Olivier Faure, is scheduled to be examined on the floor of the National Assembly on November 19, during the day reserved for the Socialists.
Adoption in committee does not predetermine the outcome of the floor vote, as the subject is highly divisive among elected officials. The preliminary committee review already produced numerous sharp exchanges between lawmakers.
The proposal would prohibit the import, purchase and marketing of goods originating from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law in the territories occupied by Israel. It also covers services, including financial services, that contribute to the development or maintenance of the settlements, such as renting apartments to tourists.
“This is not a general sanction against Israel,” Faure argued, adding that he wants to “end the financing of an illegality.” He said that “we cannot durably condemn a policy diplomatically while allowing economic relations that help sustain it to continue,” describing the bill as a “concrete translation of our diplomatic position.”
The text, co-signed by more than 100 deputies from eight groups, received support in committee from the left-wing groups and the centrist Modem party, but met opposition from Macronist deputies and 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.
For prohibited services, the bill provides for one year in prison and a fine of up to 5% of global annual turnover. The RN denounced an “obsession with Israel” and called the measure a “minor, insignificant publicity stunt,” arguing it would be unenforceable.
The proposal extends an initiative filed in October 2025 by Aymeric Caron of the left-wing La France Insoumise, which was never examined. Similar measures have been adopted in Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands since September 2025, with varying scopes regarding goods and certain services.
Implementation details remain partly to be specified by decree, particularly the due-diligence obligations imposed on service providers.
France was the tenth-largest export destination for Israeli goods in 2024, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. However, Israel accounts for a small share of French purchases abroad: 0.2% of goods imports in 2024, according to the French Treasury.
The share coming from settlements is difficult to determine.
