A new French law making it a crime to publicly deny the Ottoman Empire 's genocide of Armenians a century ago was ruled unconstitutional Tuesday by France 's Constitutional Council . The measure , which triggered condemnation from modern Turkey , was given final passage by the French Senate and signed into law by President Nicolas Sarkozy last month . Sarkozy 's office immediately issued a statement calling for a new version of the law `` taking into account the decision of the Constitutional Council . '' `` The president believes that genocide denial is intolerable and must be punished in this regard , '' the statement said . The country 's highest judicial body reviewed it at the request of National Assembly members and French senators . `` The Council deems the law unconstitutional , '' a short statement from the court said Tuesday . The Turkish government called it `` an example of irresponsibility '' and vowed to `` express our reaction against it in every platform '' when the bill passed the National Assembly -- the lower house of the French parliament -- in December . The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement Tuesday that called it `` pleasing that a grave mistake has been corrected by the highest legal authority in France . '' `` We hope France will from now on be in a constructive attitude for the dispute between Turkey and Armenia on history to be considered on a fair and scientific basis , and will make contributions that support a solution rather than further deepening the problem , '' the Turkish ministry said . `` Such an attitude will contribute to the Turkish-French relations to improve in all areas as well . '' Armenia 's government hailed the passage last month , saying France `` reaffirmed its pivotal role as a genuine defender of universal human values . '' It is already illegal in France to deny the Holocaust of World War II , a crime punishable by a year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros ( about $ 60,000 ) . The same punishment would apply under the Armenian legislation . The Turkish-Armenian controversy over the killings that took place last century has reverberated wherever diaspora communities representing both groups exist . Armenian groups and many scholars argue that Turks committed genocide starting in 1915 , when more than a million ethnic Armenians were massacred in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire . Turkey officially denies that a genocide took place , saying hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians and Turkish Muslims died in intercommunal violence around the bloody battlefields of World War I. Sen. Herve Marseille , one of the bill 's supporters , argued that since France already recognizes the Ottoman-era killings as genocide , the same standard that applies to Holocaust denial should apply to the Armenian case . `` When we contest the Jewish genocide , we can be punished , '' Marseille said . `` And up until now , when we contest the Armenian genocide , there is no punishment . So we ca n't have a legal punishment for one and not for the other . Everyone is equal in front of the law . '' But Sen. Jacques Mezard , who opposed the legislation , said freedom of expression was at stake . `` It calls into question historical and scientific research . Tomorrow will there be a question of a Vendee genocide ? '' he asked , referring to a revolt against the French revolutionary government in 1793 . `` Will we put the Spanish and the United States in the stocks for the massacre of Native Americans ? We must reject this text and consign it to history books . '' After December 's vote in the National Assembly , Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused France of committing its own `` genocide '' during its war against Algerian independence in the 1950s and 1960s . Erdogan announced that Turkey was reviewing its ties with France . Ankara recalled its ambassador to Paris for consultations , canceled bilateral visits and would n't cooperate with France in joint projects within the European Union . The French Foreign Ministry shot back at Erdogan 's comments , saying France `` assumes with clarity and transparency its duty to remember the tragedies that have marked its history . '' And Sarkozy has said that his country does n't need an OK from another nation to develop its policies . In addition to being NATO allies , Turkey and France have trade ties valued at $ 13.5 billion , according to Turkish statistics . The genocide debate is also a source of tension between Turkey and the United States , another NATO ally . The White House , for example , annually beats back efforts in Congress to pass a resolution that would formally recognize the 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide .
` ` A grave error has been corrected , '' the Turkish Foreign Ministry says . ` ` The Council deems the law unconstitutional , '' France 's highest court says . President Sarkozy calls for a new version of the law following the court 's findings . Turkey claims responsibility and says the deaths resulted from World War I bombing .