The French Republic’s Recognition of the Holodomor as Genocide of the ukrainian People
Authors: SYPKO Bogdana 
Published: November 2024

The article, based on the electronic archives of the Senate and the National Assembly, analyzes the vicissitudes of recognition of the Holodomor of 1932–1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people. The French Republic was one of the first in the world to ratify the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on December 9, 1948, but until the beginning of 2023, at the official level, the Holodomor of 1932–1933 was not recognized as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. Such a situation has an understandable explanation. First, until 1991, France was interested in cooperation with the Soviet Union, and after its collapse with the Russian Federation, whose governments fundamentally denied the genocidal nature of the Holodomor, appealing to the fact that it was simply the consequences of the regime’s failed economic policy. Secondly, until V. Yushchenko came to power in 2005 and the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of the Law on the Holodomor of 1932–1933 in Ukraine, unfortunately, Ukraine also did not pursue a purposeful policy regarding the international recognition of this genocide. And, thirdly, this issue was not a priority for either French politicians or the French public, since it did not directly affect their interests, and in most cases it was simply unknown by them. Therefore, the first French initiatives to recognize the Holodomor as genocide appeared only at the beginning of the 21st century. Naturally, they were unsuccessful, because they did not have the appropriate resonance. Proposals for resolutions on the recognition of the Holodomor as genocide, submitted on May 10, 2001 by Senators Jean-Claude Carle and Serge Mathieu, on November 30, 2006 by Deputy Christian Vanneste, as well as the request of Senator Gilbert Chabroux dated April 7, 2004, were not considered. But even when the answer was given, as in the case of Senator Jean-Pierre Vial’s request in January 2005 to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Michel Barnier, it was reduced to the fact that the use of the term “genocide” to describe the events of 1932–1933 is debatable, and the historical interpretation should initially be carried out by the interested states. As evidenced by the analysis of the minutes of the meetings of the upper and lower houses, until 2022, French parliamentarians only sporadically mentioned the Holodomor in the context of discussing other genocides of the 20th century. After February 24, 2022, the situation changes radically, the majority of French parliamentarians begin to consider the recognition of the Holodomor as an act of genocide as their duty to restore historical justice. We observe the attempts of French senators and deputies to draw symbolic parallels between the genocide of 1932–1933 and the Russian crimes of 2022–2023, in particular the mass deportation of Ukrainian children and the desire to deny the existence of the Ukrainian nation. Russia’s blockade of the export of Ukrainian provision through Black Sea ports has even more actualized the discourse of the Holodomor, and the strikes on the energy infrastructure in the autumn and winter of 2022 and 2023 provoked discussions about the “Holodomor” (paronomasia, in Ukrainian “holod” mean “cold”). The speeches of the Head of the Verkhovna Rada, R. Stefanchuk, before the National Assembly and the Senate caused considerable resonance among French parliamentarians, and laterbecame one of the arguments in favor of the urgency of adopting the Resolutions recognizing the Holodomor as genocide. The Senate started discussions sooner, but passed the Resolution later than the National Assembly. So, as early as December 9, 2022, a group of senators led by Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam and Nadia Sollogoub submitted a proposal for a corresponding resolution, which was put up for discussion and voting only on May 17, 2023. Instead, Anne Genetet registered the project in the National Assembly on January 27, 2023, and already on March 28 it was voted. Analysis of the discussion of these Resolutions in National Assembly and Senate allows us to single out a number of regularities. First, the majority of parliamentarians supported these documents. Secondly, both historical arguments and parallels with the present day, that is, Russian aggression aimed at the destruction of the Ukrainian nation, were cited in favor of their adoption. Thirdly, the communists and individual representatives of the far-right Rassemblement National opposed it, the main explanations of which were the insufficient justification of the genocidal nature of the Holodomor, and, most importantly, the unwillingness to worsen relations with Moscow. But, despite all vicissitudes, in the first half of 2023, two chambers of the French parliament recognized the Holodomor of 1932–1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people. Key words: genocide, Holodomor, National Assembly, Senate, resolution, Ukraine, French Republic.