Assisted dying in France

The French health law says that every person has the right to refuse treatment. Article L1110-2 guarantees the right to dignity to patients.

Established the rights of patients and regulates compensation for medical accidents, placing the patient at the center of the health system.

Regulated the end of life in France, prohibiting active euthanasia while allowing the limitation or cessation of treatments deemed disproportionate and guaranteeing palliative care.

This law granted patients the right to refuse treatment and established Deep and Continuous Sedation (SPC) for patients whose death is imminent and who are suffering uncontrollably. While a step forward, it was criticized for only addressing the very final hours of life, often leading to slow deaths by dehydration or starvation.

To break the political deadlock, President Macron established a convention of 184 randomly selected citizens. In April 2023, 76% of them voted in favor of legalizing some form of active assistance in dying.

Following the Convention’s report, the government introduced a bill that was debated intensely in the spring of 2025. On May 27, 2025, the National Assembly passed the bill. Key provisions included:

• Legalizing the prescription of end of life medication.
• A strict “pathway” involving palliative care checks.
• Exclusion of psychiatric illnesses.

After the Senate rejected the bill, the government invoked its constitutional right to give the National Assembly the final say. On 15 July 2026 the Assembly adopted the law 291–241, with lawmakers applauding its author Olivier Falorni after years of parliamentary battle. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu then referred the text to the Constitutional Council, as did others including Gérard Larcher, President of the Senate, and Marine Le Pen (Rassemblement national).

On 14 August 2026 the Constitutional Council upheld the law, finding no provision unconstitutional and issuing three reservations of interpretation. President Macron promulgated it on 18 August 2026 (Law no. 2026-794), and it was published in the Journal officiel on 19 August 2026. The first requests are expected in early 2027, once the implementing decrees are published.