A contentious new component of France’s anti-sect law that campaigners warned would have dealt a “death knell to natural medicine” has been dropped. 

The measure formed part of amendments to France’s long-standing Anti-sectarian Aberrations Law that is designed to combat abuses such as female genital mutilation and act of terrorism. But the modified bill also contains measures intended to tackle misinformation and dangerous advice on health issues, either in person or online. 

The French Government says the new measures are a response to a surge in health misinformation during and following the pandemic. It says that the mix of known extremist religious and political groups operating in France has in recent years been added to by “new forms of (health) gurus”,  significant numbers of whom it believes actively try to deter people – some with serious illnesses – from using conventional medical treatments, with dangerous consequences.

The proposed Article 4 amendment of the law would have introduced fines of up to €45,000 or prison sentences of between 1 and 3 years to those who criticise or avoid conventional medical practices considered ‘essential’, or use or promote natural or alternative medicines instead, whenever either of these practices was deemed to have serious negative health consequences. 

Ahead of a vote on the new law by the French Parliament on December 19,  campaigners warned that the amended law would effectively criminalise natural health. Robert Verkerk, founder, executive and scientific director of the Alliance for Natural Health International, said the proposed law “represents probably the most blatant legal attack on the practice of alternative and natural medicine anywhere in the world.” He continued: “If passed into law, those who speak out about the dangers of pharmaceuticals or vaccines and use alternatives will be declared sectarian deviants and will be turned into criminals.”

In the event, the Article 4 amendment was deleted from the proposed update of the anti-sect law at some point between being debated in the French Senate on December 13 and Parliament’s vote on December 19. Following this development, ANH International commented: “Despite this victory, we need to remain vigilant as such attempts to reduce our access to natural health options and infringe our rights to choose how we maintain our health are likely to continue in various guises”.