In the name of upholding the core values of the French Republic, however, French lawmakers introduced new legislation that effectively restricts them, writes journal The Atlantic.

A bill that sets the research budget for French universities for the next decade, adopted by France’s Senate on November 20, targets student protests and took a stab at academic freedom. The bill includes a provision criminalizing on-campus gatherings that “trouble the tranquility and good order of the establishment”.trouble à la tranquillité ou le bon ordre de l’établissementAn amendment requiring that academic research hew to the “values of the Republic” was scrapped only at the last minute, after strong pushback by scholars who feared that its intent was to restrict freedom of inquiry (The Atlantic).Les libertés académiques s’exercent dans le respect des valeurs de la RépubliqueTo read in detail about the criticism of the bill, visit the French news service France Info (English translation available with Google Translate in Google Chrome browser) 

A second piece of legislation which was approved by lawmakers contains an article which restricts the publication of images of police. The article is aimed at “protecting those who protect us” by banning anyone ( journalists and civilians indiscriminately) from publishing or broadcasting images in which on-duty police officers can be clearly identified for what the bill calls "malicious purposes". All that while French police violence has gained a lot of criticism recently and domestic and international journalists and human rights groups protested against the bill. The detailed criticism and also the argument to support the article one finds in the broadcast by Deutsche Welle.