In late 2025, France's National Assembly adopted several texts recognizing historical figures and victims, signaling growing interest in collective memory. These laws, more consensual than before, reflect a shift where remembrance takes precedence over forgetting to progress. Political divides remain despite this.
At the end of 2025, France's National Assembly approved texts on elevating Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general, as well as on victims of anti-abortion laws before 1975 and anti-homosexuality laws before 1982. These adoptions by the Assembly and Senate often mark the first step toward potential reparations, according to observers. Historian Sébastien Ledoux states that « these memory laws are not a French exception ». He highlights that this frenzy indicates a reversal of the traditional roles of forgetting and memory: previously, public forgetting served to pacify societies, while memorization could cause troubles. Today, remembering is necessary to move forward.
In the 2000s, intense debates pitted historians against politicians following laws such as the recognition of the Armenian genocide in 2001 or the 2005 law requiring school curricula to acknowledge « the positive role » of colonization in North Africa. Ledoux notes: « It is legitimate for politicians to discuss the past, but vigilance is needed so that laws do not become repressive and rely on historical research. » Despite a trend toward greater consensus, political divides persist in these discussions on collective memory.
