01 August 2025
A State Without Statehood
One year after New Caledonia was tormented by violent demonstrations, resulting in the deaths of 14 people and causing over 2 billion euros worth of damage, representatives of New Caledonia and the French State signed the Bougival Accord to bring an end to the situation and pave the way for peace. While Emmanuel Macron hails the Accord as “historic”, the overseas minister Manuel Valls celebrates it as “the best response to the fear”. However, a closer look at the agreement reveals that the Accord continues to entrench the French hold on the island and renders New Caledonian independence more elusive than ever. Continue reading >>
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25 July 2025
Pullbacks in the Channel
Last week, negotiations for a new UK–France agreement culminated in the announcement of a 'one in, one out' pilot scheme, under which the UK will return small boat arrivals to France while accepting asylum seekers selected from France who can demonstrate family ties in Britain. The agreement signals a sui generis evolution in European migration control. For the first time, rather than pushing asylum seekers back to third countries to avoid legal responsibilities under EU and international law, an EU Member State is directly preventing departures from its own territory. Continue reading >>
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27 May 2025
Dismantling Jus Soli
The principle of jus soli has been progressively dismantled in France through the tightening of conditions governing access to French nationality in Mayotte—the 101st department of the Republic and an archipelago in the Comoros located in the Indian Ocean. This restrictive approach was reinforced by the adoption, on 9 April 2025, of a new legislative measure designed to further limit access to birthright citizenship. The Conseil constitutionnel upheld the constitutionality of the contested provisions in its decision of 7 May 2025. Continue reading >>25 April 2025
The (TikTok) Ban Is Dead, Long Live the Ban
In 2024, amidst social unrest, the French government banned TikTok in Kanaky-New Caledonia. In April 2025, the Council of State reviewed the ban. This post examines the implications of the judgment through the lens of the legal doctrine on emergency powers – particularly its impact on the separation of powers – and situates it within the broader context of Kanaky-New Caledonia’s ongoing decolonization process from France. Continue reading >>
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07 April 2025
Dictatorship of the Court vs. Will of the People?
On March 31st, French politician Marine Le Pen was convicted for embe-zzlement of public funds – and sentenced to ineligibility to run for office for five years, effective immediately. Since then, the RN incessantly gathered outrage, calling out the “tyranny of judges” and claiming that the verdict end-angers democracy. After a week, it’s time to take a closer look at “the scandal”. Spoiler alert: There is no “political death” that might be the fault of a court – if at all, it was a (easily avoidable) suicide. Continue reading >>01 April 2025
Simone Rozès (née Ludwig)
Simone Rozès was a pioneering French jurist who left a lasting impact on the French judicial system and beyond. Her decade-spanning career was marked by her many prestigious positions and her commitment to justice. However, as a woman in the mid-20th century, she also faced various challenges, including overcoming gender barriers within the judiciary. Continue reading >>
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21 March 2025
“A Catalyst for European Identity”
Five Questions to Aurore Gaillet Continue reading >>
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17 October 2024
Fundamental Rights Score a Goal
Amid the significant number of rulings delivered by the ECJ on 4 October 2024, the long-awaited judgment pitting football against the media stands out. In Real Madrid vs Le Monde, the Court held that excessive defamation damages may breach the freedom of the press and trigger the public policy exception under Brussels Ia Regulation concerning recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In doing so, the ECJ allowed national courts to conduct a substantive review of foreign judgments despite the principle of mutual trust, to ensure the enforcement of fundamental rights across the EU. Continue reading >>
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03 October 2024
Sex Work Can’t Buy Human Rights
In a recent decision on the merits in M.A. and Others v. France, the ECtHR held that French legislation criminalizing the purchase of sexual acts did not violate the rights of 261 sex workers. The decision retreats into the Court’s traditional interpretative toolbox of European consensus and (procedural) margin of appreciation. I argue that the ECtHR decision does not only demonstrate blindness towards the rising sensitivity towards intersectional grounds of discrimination in human rights law but also contradicts recent proposals on “a human rights-based approach to sex work” promoted by several UN organs and the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights. Continue reading >>
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29 May 2024