Briton’s EU voting rights cancelled in last-minute ruling by France's top appeal court
British civil servant Alice Bouilliez had previously been reinstated
Alice Bouilliez's right to vote in EU elections was briefly restored last year
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French lawyers seeking to regain voting rights lost by Britons in France due to Brexit have spoken out at the summary way in which they say top appeal court Cour de cassation has cancelled a Briton’s EU voting rights.
They are now considering a further appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
In 2025 former British civil servant Alice Bouilliez was reinstated on the EU election voting lists as a citizen of an ‘unknown EU country’ after the court of Auch in south-west France agreed her striking off was a “disproportionate attack on her rights and freedoms”.
The ruling came after legal battles by Mrs Bouilliez, who is in her 60s, supported by her lawyers Julien Fouchet and Jean-Noël Caubet-Hilloutou who hailed it as a brave decision.
Britons in France who could previously vote in EU and local elections have no longer been able to do so since Brexit unless they have French or an EU nationality. Mrs Bouillez hoped the ruling would lead to a wider review.
However, she reports the Cour de cassation axed the decision after a last-minute appeal from the Gers prefecture.
“I’ve written to President Macron as I reckon he’s the only one who can do something now. Failing that, the European Court of Human Rights is a possibility. Normally being ineligible to vote is seen as a punishment.”
She said the Cour said the Auch judges had overstepped their powers. She is now ‘suspended’ on the electoral lists.
Mr Fouchet said: “The Cour de cassation behaved very poorly, having warned no one that there was to be a hearing in September, not respecting the time-periods for me to respond and simply notifying a decision to annual the Auch decision, without sending the matter back to the judge in Auch.”
Mr Fouchet sought to lodge a request to the court to retract its ruling on the basis of the irregularities he identified.
He is now considering a further appeal to the ECHR and has also written to President Macron, in a letter in which he says the court acted as if there was only one party in the case (ie. the state's side), not considering his own legal arguments.
He also stated in his letter that the avocat général - an official who presented the state's view - had taken an overly 'political' stance, telling the court "Brexit means Brexit, as former UK Prime Minister Theresa May said".
Mr Fouchet also invited Mr Macron to consider launching negotiations for a bilateral UK-France deal on local election voting, such as have been signed by several EU countries, ensuring that French people can vote in the UK and vice versa for Britons in France.
