The vote in France's lower house of parliament making it a crime to deny that the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 was genocide and penalizing those who deny it with a year in prison and a fine of up to 45,000 euros has brought France's relationship with Turkey to the end of the road. The law is due to be debated in the senate in the coming months.Turkish attempts to stop this bill going to parliament were charged as "interference in France's internal affairs" by Valerie Boyer, the bills author.
While Foreign Minister Alain Juppé called on Turkey not to overreact, Turkey has responded in the strongest possible terms. Ankara has threatened military and political sanctions against France, and has cancelled all economic, political and military meetings within the NATO framework, while also cancelling permission for French military planes and ships to use Turkey's ports or airfields.
If the bill is adopted, France will lose access to sectors of the Turkish economy such as transport and arms, which could cost French business around $40-50 billion.