Emmanuel Macron has signed assisted dying into law after four years of fierce debate, but the right exists only on paper for now. Patients will not be able to request it until the government finalises the practical rules early next year.

Macron signs the law after four years of debate

President Emmanuel Macron signed France’s assisted dying law on Wednesday August 19, formally publishing it in the Journal Officiel, France’s official gazette, and closing a process that began in 2023. The National Assembly adopted the final text on Wednesday July 15, and France’s Constitutional Council validated the law on Friday August 14 after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Senate President Gérard Larcher and around 60 senators tried to have parts of it struck down.

The Élysée Palace called the law “an essential safeguard for our fellow citizens” and said it completed “an exemplary democratic debate”. It has been described as one of France’s biggest social reforms since same-sex marriage was legalised in 2012.

Who qualifies for assisted dying in France

The law grants a right to aide à mourir, or aid in dying, to adults who are French nationals or settled legal residents. Applicants must have a serious and incurable illness in its terminal or advanced phase, causing physical suffering that cannot be relieved, and must keep full mental capacity to make a free and conscious choice until the final moment. Psychological suffering alone cannot qualify someone for the procedure under the law.

A single doctor leads the assessment alongside other health professionals and must give a reasoned answer within 15 days of a written request. Patients then face a minimum two-day reflection period before confirming their decision, and may withdraw consent at any point. Patients are expected to administer the lethal substance themselves, except where a physical disability prevents this. Healthcare workers, pharmacists and private or Catholic-run clinics can still refuse to take part on grounds of conscience, provided the clinic is not the only facility available locally.

Why nobody can actually access it before 2027

Despite the promulgation, no patient can request the procedure yet. The Health Ministry must still write the decrees that set out the practical mechanics, including which substances can be used, and the government has committed to publishing them within six months of the law being signed.

France’s Haute Autorité de Santé, the national health authority, is due to give its own opinion on prescriptions and complications by November, before any decree can be finalised. Officials are targeting early 2027 for the law to become usable in practice.

Spain has already granted the same request more than a thousand times

The debate is not new for readers in Spain, where a similar law, the Ley Orgánica de Regulación de la Eutanasia (Spain’s organic law regulating euthanasia), has applied since June 25 2021, open to Spanish nationals and anyone with legal residency, including British nationals settled here. Read EWN’s essential guide to assisted suicide in Spain for the full picture.

Spain’s Health Ministry recorded 2,432 requests between the law’s introduction and the end of 2024, of which 1,123, or 46 per cent, ended in an assisted death. In 2024 alone, 426 people used the law, and more than 550 did so in 2025, according to ministry figures reported in June.

The right that collapsed in the House of Lords

Britain came close to a similar law of its own. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed the House of Commons in June 2025 in a historic vote but stalled in the House of Lords, where opponents tabled more than 1,200 amendments.

Because backbench bills can only be debated on Fridays, the delay ran out the parliamentary clock, and the bill fell on Friday April 24 2026. Labour peer Lord Falconer called it “an absolute travesty of our processes”, and Kim Leadbeater, the MP who introduced the original bill, said supporters would try again in the next parliamentary session.

For now, British nationals wanting an assisted death have a legal route in Spain, will have one in France from next year, and still have none at home.

Healthcare workers at a Spanish health centre were left facing a terrifying situation during a night shift after a man allegedly turned violent when staff asked for a health card. The incident at the Sineu out-of-hours health centre in Mallorca left a nurse reportedly unable to work because of anxiety, while the building itself was damaged during the confrontation.

The man, of Moroccan nationality had arrived at around 4am with another man and a woman. The second man was reportedly bleeding heavily and appeared to be unconscious, prompting staff to assess him. A doctor then asked for his health card, according to an account from a witness at the centre. That request was followed by an alleged outburst that rapidly escalated inside the facility.

Glass door smashed during confrontation

According to the witness, the man said he had no documentation, health card or DNI before becoming increasingly aggressive before picking up a nursing bed, knocking over a medical trolley and kicked the entrance door several times, smashing the glass.

Healthcare workers were confronted with the threat inside the centre while they were trying to deal with the medical emergency that had brought the group there. Staff eventually managed to get the two men outside and locked the door behind them. The Guardia Civil was called, with officers later finding the man outside the health centre waiting for an ambulance.

Nurse left unable to return to work

For one member of staff, the consequences reportedly continued long after the confrontation ended. A complaint has been filed, and the nurse has received legal assistance from the College of Nursing, according to the report. Video footage recorded during the incident has also reportedly been handed to the Guardia Civil and included with the police report.

The footage provides investigators with visual evidence of what happened inside the health centre and the behaviour that staff were dealing with during the incident. For the workers that were providing overnight medical care, the episode has left them with  vulnerability and trauma that many other care worker face when dealing with distressed or aggressive people when there may be only a small number of colleagues on duty.

Violence erupts during overnight medical care

The Sineu facility operates as an out-of-hours centre, providing medical attention during periods when ordinary health centres are closed. The incident occurred during the early hours of July 19, when staff were working through the night. The group had arrived because one of the men apparently required medical attention.

Instead of concentrating solely on treating the injured man, staff found themselves dealing with an alleged violent confrontation inside their workplace. Staff ultimately secured themselves inside the building after getting the group outside. The Guardia Civil’s attendance brought police intervention to the scene, while the ambulance was also involved in the man’s subsequent care.

Attack raises concern for Spanish healthcare workers

The incident is just another mounting backdrop of concern over aggression towards medical staff in Spain. Healthcare workers can face verbal abuse, threats and physical attacks while carrying out their jobs, with incidents becoming particularly difficult for those working alone or with limited colleagues during overnight services. At Sineu, the alleged confrontation was not confined to an argument at reception. Staff were reportedly faced with broken glass and medical equipment being lifted during the altercation.

The reported anxiety suffered by the nurse shows the personal cost can continue after the immediate danger has passed. A health centre should be a place where medical staff can treat patients without having to protect themselves from violence. For the workers involved, that expectation was shattered during a single overnight shift. The investigation will now establish what happened and whether further action will be taken over the alleged assault and damage.

Footage handed to Guardia Civil

The witness who recorded the incident reportedly provided the footage to the Guardia Civil. That evidence could be significant in establishing the sequence of events and determining what occurred inside the centre.

The investigation will determine the legal consequences of the incident, but for those working at the Sineu centre, the memory of a routine request for a health card allegedly escalating into violence is unlikely to disappear as quickly as the broken glass was cleared away.

Quiet family life in a multinational residential complex in Mijas Golf has turned into daily dread. Residents who once enjoyed green spaces, a swimming pool with Mediterranean and Sierra de Mijas views, and easy access to golf, now report broken locks, neglected gardens, main gates left open for strangers at all hours, and letters demanding they pack up and leave within weeks.

Complaints started rolling in soon after the complex changed hands in 2023. Access control failed, CCTV stayed offline, fire equipment and handrails needed attention, sewage and drainage problems raised public health worries, and communal facilities including the pool and gym fell into poor shape. Some neighbours also brought up uncontrolled dogs and aggressive behaviour.

One resident documented formal notices about unrestricted access and damaged gates as early as June, followed by detailed health and safety reports in early July. Rental contract questions were raised in mid-July too, long before any violence. Rodrigo, a father of small children on the site said, “We can’t go on like this anymore. We’re already looking for somewhere to move to, but it’s not easy at such short notice.”

Intimidation from unidentified men

Letters ordering residents to leave arrived recently. Unidentified men described as “bully boys” from Torremolinos then turned up to enforce the message. They carried no official identification and showed none of the usual professional approach expected in Spanish eviction processes.

Many owners have stayed silent on formal correspondence. Many at the site refused to speak through fear of repercussions. Both Spanish and international tenants, the majority of whom pay rent and bills on time, now feel pressured and watched with unrecognised people and cars arriving through the night.

Nearby residents across the wider Mijas Golf resort lower their heads when the complex is mentioned. It has gained a reputation throughout the resort. Estate agents still list properties online under a different address in an apparent effort to protect the image.

Fatal attack inside the complex

Horror struck on the evening of August 10. A 25-year-old man of, left in a wheelchair after a previous shooting, was stabbed in the chest inside his home. Neighbours found him bleeding heavily and contacted the emergency services, but he later died. Guardia Civil officers attended after reports of the attack but found no sign of suspects at the scene. Security correspondence has intensified since then One resident sent urgent notices about previous deficiencies and demanded immediate repairs, including security installations which had fallen into disrepair. By August 12 a reply confirmed work on the locks had begun. Later that same afternoon apartments received formal notice to vacate. Some residents challenged it and sought legal clarification about the 15-day deadline that followed the raising of safety concerns.

Community reputation in tatters

What was once a tucked-away, safe spot for families with children has gained a bad name. Families still live there, paying their way and causing no trouble, yet the whole community now walks in fear. Similar worries have surfaced elsewhere on the Costa del Sol, including squatter occupations that unsettled another golf resort and a suspected double murder in a Mijas house fire. Mijas town hall has also moved to take over dozens of long-neglected urbanisations in a bid to improve services, as reported here, but even the council admits there is little they can do.

Local voices insist the sequence of unresolved security failings, the fatal attack, rapid lock work, and sudden vacation notices, deserves closer attention from higher authorities. Residents say they simply want the place made safe again so ordinary families can live without looking over their shoulders.