On June 11, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled against the French state’s bid to criminalize the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in solidarity with Palestine. The particular case stemmed from protests in September 2009 and May 2010 in which French BDS activists had demonstrated inside a supermarket in Illzach, eastern France, urging a boycott of Israeli products. Yet it is part of a row with far wider implications for anti-Zionist activists across the continent.

The BDS activists had initially been sued by the district attorney on two grounds: publicly encouraging “hatred and discrimination against a group of people because of their origins, race, and religions,” and wearing T-shirts with the messages, “Palestine will win” and “boycott Israel.” The French court sentenced the five activists to pay a total of €3,000 to the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA), the NGO Lawyers Without Borders, the France-Israel Alliance, and the National Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism.

But with the ECHR ruling last Wednesday, the French court’s decision lies in tatters. The European judges ruled that as citizens these activists had the right to express their political opinions, which are in no sense discriminatory against a race or a religion. This was an important victory for anti-Zionists in France: a first step toward rolling back the French state’s continued efforts to criminalize BDS activists and Palestinian solidarity.