France

France

Right	Section	Contents
Freedom of Association	History	Title I of the French Constitution of 1791 guarantees the right of peaceful assembly. “Liberty to citizens to assemble peaceably and without arms in accordance with police regulations.” Though the French Constitution of 1791 protected the right to assemble, French revolutionaries considered explicitly excluding free association (Boyd 257). The French enacted a law protecting free association in 1901, and enshrined it in their constitution in 1971 (Boyd 2008, 237). References: Boyd, Richard. “THE MADISONIAN PARADOX OF FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION.” Social philosophy & policy 25, no. 2 (2008): 235–262.
Freedom of Expression	History	France laid the groundwork for inalienable rights to freedom of expression through the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and of the Citizen. Article 11 of this 1789 document states, “The free communication of ideas and of opinion is one of the most precious rights of man.” The 1791 French Constitution utilized this phrasing in its 11th Article to enshrine freedom of expression, and continues this tradition of citing the Rights of Man in the 1958 Constitution. References: English translation of the French original text of the Declaration of 1789, 2 (2010) Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789 https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzfr0143&id=2&men_tab=srchresults English translation of the French original text of the Constitution of 1791, 60 (2010) https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzfr0138&id=3&men_tab=srchresults English original text of the Constitution of 1958, together with the Preamble of 1946, 77 (2010) https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.cow/zzfr0147&id=3&collection=cow&index=
Freedom of Religion	History	France laid the groundwork for inalienable rights to freedom of expression through the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and of the Citizen. Article 11 of this 1789 document states, “The free communication of ideas and of opinion is one of the most precious rights of man.” The 1791 French Constitution utilized this phrasing in its 11th Article to enshrine freedom of expression, and continues this tradition of citing the Rights of Man in the 1958 Constitution. References English translation of the French original text of the Declaration of 1789, 2 (2010) Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789 https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzfr0143&id=2&men_tab=srchresults English translation of the French original text of the Constitution of 1791, 60 (2010) https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzfr0138&id=3&men_tab=srchresults English original text of the Constitution of 1958, together with the Preamble of 1946, 77 (2010) https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.cow/zzfr0147&id=3&collection=cow&index=
Freedom of the Press	History	The importance of press freedom was originally emphasized in Article XI of the 1789 Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen: “The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law” (Yale Law School, “Declaration of the Rights of Man – 1789” ). This clause is now contained in Article 11 of the France’s 1958 Constitution (Constitute Project, “France's Constitution of 1958 with Amendments through 2008” ).
Privacy Rights	History	The right to privacy in France is implied in Article IV of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 26 August 1789. Article IV reads, “Liberty consists of being able to do everything that does not harm anybody else: thus the exercise of the natural rights of every man has no boundaries except those that ensure to other Members of the Society the enjoyment of those same rights” (Hardt, Kiiver, Kristofertisch). The Declaration of the Rights of Man is still in force today due to the Preamble of the 1958 French Constitution. Sascha Hardt, Phillip Kiiver & Gisela Kristofertisch. ( 2019) . Comparative Constitutional Law Documents. “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen [Declaration des Driots de L’Homme et du Citoyen] of 26 August 1789” and “Constitution of the V. Republic of 4 October 1958. ”
Voting Rights and Suffrage	History	Under Article 3 of the French Constitution suffrage may be direct or indirect and will always be universal, equal and secret. (Constitute Project, “France's Constitution of 1958 with Amendments through 2008” )