French parliamentarians appeal genocide bill, Turkey applauds move

French parliamentarians appealed to the country's supreme Constitutional Council to overturn a bill that penalizes denial of Armenian genocide claims, a development that raised prospects of annulment of the controversial legislation which has angered Turkey. The council is now expected to examine whether the bill, passed in both houses of the French Parliament, violates the French constitution and its founding base of freedom of expression. At least 60 signatures from either houses of parliament, the Senate or the National Assembly, are needed to appeal a bill at the Constitutional Council. Some 77 senators from across the political divide made the appeal to the court. Another 65 lawmakers in the lower house agreed to the appeal. The 11-member Constitutional Council has 30 days to decide whether the legislation is unconstitutional. But it may be forced to rule in eight days if the government requests an emergency decision. The bill, which received final parliamentary approval on Jan. 23, needs to be approved by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who backs it, in order to go into effect. But the Constitutional Council may now annul it on grounds of violating the French constitution before it gets to Sarkozy. On Tuesday, Erdogan praised the French parliamentarians for seeking to reject the bill. "This is what befits France. The senators did what befits France," he told reporters. "Both opposition and government party leaders imposed pressure on senators and National Assembly members so that this bill is signed into law quickly," Turkish Ambassador to France Tahsin Burcuoglu said in televised comments after the French parliamentarians appealed the bill. "It is never easy for politicians to do it. They have shown courage and I thank them for this," Burcuoglu said. President Abdullah Gul also lauded the move, saying he knew "the French would not allow such a shadow to be cast over their country." "The Constitutional Court will deliver the right decision," Gul told reporters during a visit to Dubai. "Freedoms are the most important source of strength for a country. And the freedom of expression is what lies at the heart of freedoms. This bill is detrimental to freedom of expression." Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also praised the French parliamentarians, saying they "stood up for their own values." "What needs to be done now is to wait patiently for the outcome of the process at the Constitutional Council. I hope the Turkish-French friendship will win in the end," he said. Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement on Tuesday and welcomed the move.