Defamation and Online Harassment Laws in France

French defamation law is statutory and comes mainly from the Press Freedom Law of 29 July 1881. Article 29 defines defamation as any allegation or imputation of a fact that harms a person's honor or reputation, and insult (injure) as an offensive expression or term of contempt that does not allege any specific fact. Article 23 lists the means of publication covered, which include any form of electronic communication to the public, so online posts fall within the law.

Source1Loi du 29 juillet 1881 sur la liberté de la presse, arts. 23 and 29 (Légifrance)

Public defamation and public insult of a private person are criminal offenses punished by a fine of up to 12,000 euros under Articles 32 and 33 of the 1881 law. When the defamation targets someone because of origin, ethnicity, nationality, race or religion, among other grounds, the penalty rises to up to one year in prison and a 45,000 euro fine. Defamation of public bodies (Article 30) and of the officials and other persons listed in Article 31, in connection with their duties, carries a fine of up to 45,000 euros, while defamation that is not made in public is a minor offense (a first-class contravention) under Article R621-1 of the Penal Code.

Sources1Loi du 29 juillet 1881, arts. 30, 31, 32 and 33 (Légifrance)2Code pénal, art. R621-1 (Légifrance)

French law does not separate written and spoken defamation for time limits. Under Article 65 of the 1881 law, both the criminal action and the civil action are barred three months after the statement was published, unless the period is interrupted by a prosecution or investigation step. Article 65-3 extends the limit to one year for defamation or insult based on origin, ethnicity, nationality, race, religion and similar grounds.

Source1Loi du 29 juillet 1881, arts. 65 and 65-3 (Légifrance)

France has no category called defamation per se. The closest equivalent is that defamatory statements are presumed to have been made with culpable intent, and the person who made them can overcome that presumption only by proving good faith, as the Cour de cassation restated in 2026.

Source3Cour de cassation, chambre criminelle, 12 May 2026, No. 25-82.734 (Légifrance)

France has no anti-SLAPP statute aimed at defamation cases, but a decree that took effect on 7 May 2026 implements the EU anti-SLAPP directive in civil procedure. In civil cases brought against someone because of their participation in public debate, the judge can grant the defendant an advance toward legal costs, quickly dismiss a manifestly unfounded claim, and, when the case is abusive, order the claimant to cover the defendant's legal costs unless they are excessive. General rules also allow a civil fine of up to 10,000 euros for abusive lawsuits, and up to 15,000 euros against a person whose criminal complaint is found abusive or dilatory when the case is dismissed (a rule set to be repealed on 1 January 2029).

Sources4Décret n° 2026-337 du 30 avril 2026 (transposing Directive (EU) 2024/1069), creating Code de procédure civile arts. 499-1 to 499-3 (Légifrance)5Code de procédure civile, art. 32-1 (Légifrance)6Code de procédure pénale, art. 177-2 (Légifrance)

France gives a right of reply rather than a retraction rule. Under Article 13 of the 1881 law, the publication director of a daily newspaper must publish a named person's reply within three days of receiving it (other periodicals must run it in the next issue), on pain of a 3,750 euro fine. For online services, Article 1-1(III) of the 2004 Law on Confidence in the Digital Economy lets anyone named or identified online request a free reply within three months of publication, which must be inserted within three days under the same fine.

Sources1Loi du 29 juillet 1881, art. 13 (Légifrance)7Loi n° 2004-575 du 21 juin 2004 pour la confiance dans l'économie numérique, art. 1-1 (III) (Légifrance)

Under Article 35 of the 1881 law, the defendant can generally try to prove that the defamatory facts are true, except when they concern the person's private life, and must give notice of that evidence within ten days of being served under Article 55. The other main defense is good faith: the Cour de cassation asks whether the statement is part of a debate of general interest and rests on a sufficient factual basis, and if so, whether the author stayed prudent and measured and showed no personal animosity, which are then judged less strictly. Insult of a private person is punished only when it was not preceded by provocation.

Sources1Loi du 29 juillet 1881, arts. 33, 35 and 55 (Légifrance)3Cour de cassation, chambre criminelle, 12 May 2026, No. 25-82.734 (Légifrance)

France has no separate cyberstalking offense; online stalking is covered by the general harassment offense in Article 222-33-2-2 of the Penal Code, which punishes repeated remarks or behavior that degrade a person's living conditions and harm their physical or mental health. The penalty rises from one year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine to two years and 30,000 euros when the harassment is committed through an online service or a digital medium. Article 222-16 separately punishes repeated malicious calls or electronic messages meant to disturb someone's peace with up to one year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine.

Sources8Code pénal, art. 222-33-2-2 (Légifrance)9Code pénal, art. 222-16 (Légifrance)

Article 222-33-2-2 of the Penal Code also covers group harassment, often called online pile-ons or raids. The offense applies when several people target the same person in a coordinated way or at one person's urging, or one after another while knowing they are part of a pattern, even if no individual acted repeatedly. Penalties reach three years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine when two or more aggravating circumstances apply, such as online use and a minor victim.

Source8Code pénal, art. 222-33-2-2 (Légifrance)

Article 223-1-1 of the Penal Code makes it a crime to reveal or spread information about a person's private, family or professional life that allows them to be identified or located, in order to expose them or their family to a direct risk of harm to their person or property that the author knew or could not ignore. The penalty is three years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine, rising to five years and 75,000 euros when the victim is, for example, a minor, a journalist, an elected official or a public official.

Source10Code pénal, art. 223-1-1 (Légifrance)

Under Article 226-2-1 of the Penal Code, making public or passing to anyone a sexual recording or image of a person without their agreement is punished by two years in prison and a 60,000 euro fine, even if the person agreed to the recording or made it themselves. Article 226-8-1, added in 2024, applies the same penalties to sharing sexual montages or algorithm-generated content that reproduces a person's image or voice without consent, rising to three years and 75,000 euros when shared through an online service.

Sources11Code pénal, art. 226-2-1 (Légifrance)12Code pénal, art. 226-8-1 (Légifrance)