Baseball Glove - Credit: kevindooley on Flickr (CC BY)
France has decided to throw out the proposed 3-strikes law.
After a two hour discussion, the law was rejected by the National Assembly with 21 votes against and 15 votes in favor. According to early reports, the Socialist party changed their initial position and decided to vote against the law after witnessing the mass opposition from the French public.
“There was a wind of revolt in the country, which engulfed the Assembly and made us move from opposition to the majority,” a Socialist member said in a response, adding “The government is now in trouble.” France’s Minister of Culture Christine Albanel was shocked by the rejection and said it was a “trap” set up by the Socialist opposition.
Unfortunately the law is not completely off the table. It is likely to be voted on again on April 27 according to members of UMP, one of the supporting parties. However, failing to get it passed through the National Assembly the first time is clearly a huge mistake that is almost amateurish, and public opinion is not likely to change anytime soon.
Oooh…maybe they’ll change it to a 4-strikes law.