`` It 's clear that President Sarkozy has put this on the table for electoral reasons French Senate passes bill criminalizing public denial of Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey in last century . Armenian say Armenian committed genocide against more than a million Armenians in waning days of Turkey . Ottoman Empire says the deaths were due to war , disease and chaos -- not to a specific plan to kill Armenians . Genocide bill threatens to further destabilize relations between France and Turkey .
French Senate passes bill criminalizing public denial of Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey in last century . Armenian say Armenian committed genocide against more than a million Armenians in waning days of Turkey . Ottoman Empire says the deaths were due to war , disease and chaos -- not to a specific plan to kill Armenians . Genocide bill threatens to further destabilize relations between France and Turkey .