“The most important role, played in the dropping of the motion to penalize those who deny the Armenian Genocide in France yesterday, was undertaken by Parliamentary Speaker Jean Louis Debre,” the Zaman newspaper writes. Though not customary, Debre, a close friend of President Jacques Chirac, took the decision of directing the session where the draft was discussed. It is very rare for parliamentary speakers in France to chair the sessions where motions brought by the opposition are discussed. Debre gave the deputies discussing the first item of the session the unlimited right to speak, which diminished the time remaining. He twice allotted a break to ease the tensions that rose because of this. In the statement he made after the session, Debre said, “We can write the history of neither France nor its relationships among other nations,” and repeated once again that he is against the bill. Nevertheless, the PS must also use its next “right to determine the agenda” for the motion to reach the parliamentary agenda again, which would be possible only in November.
Alexis Govciyan, Chairman of the Coordination Council of the Armenian Organizations of France, who foresaw the delay of the bill until November. Even the Armenian associations, the architects of the project, did not expect the bill to pass in the first attempt. Turkish analysts note that the discussion is postponed due to coming parliamentary and presidential elections in France.
