Statements of the one of the backers of the law that is being talked about, former Ministry of Culture, Socialist Jack Lang created trouble. It is appeared that last year Lang had said, "I gave approval to the "Armenian genocide" that Parliament enacted. I may mention "Armenian genocide" within quotation marks because historians have not made research about that. Yes i used my vote for that law to pass because i was thinking that i was some ethical behaviour. I do not know if i would do the same now."
Stating that deputies wanted that law to pass not because they have some historical understanding or because of their loyalty to a country but for concerns of votes, French politician said in the speech he made in front of members of Freedom for History Movement, "I was President of External Affairs Commission of National Assembly. Because of that i am guilty two times, because i was President and deputy meantime." In his recorded speech Frech politician harshly criticized the law penalizing the denial of the "Armenian genocide" that was recognized in the national assembly of France in 2006 and defined the law draft that was proposed by his own political party as "terrible". Another thing in the speech of Lang that may be found interesting is that he uses the term "masssacre" instead of Genocide for 1915 events.
But as fast as his speech published on internet, French politician is exposed to huge pressure from Armenian diaspora in France and he backed off from his statements. In the letter that Lang sent to Nouvel Observateur magazine he said that speech was a scientifical discussion among historians and said that he will struggle for the recognition of "Armenian genocide" by whole World and especially by Turkey.
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