Lois scélérates

The lois scélérates (English: Villainous laws) were a set of three anti-anarchist laws passed by the French state between December 1893 and the summer of 1894. Passed in a period the French public and press called l'Ère des attentats, these laws were adopted under the pretext of stopping anarchist propaganda of the deed attacks. The first law banned and criminalized the anarchist press while giving authorities greater powers for arrests without trial and raids. The second law condemned a new offense, the "understanding", which was poorly defined and used to criminalize anarchists. The third law, which was abolished in 1992, prohibited all anarchist 'activities'.

Immediately after they were passed, the laws were criticized for their disregard of several principles of criminal law by figures such as the anarchists Jean Grave and Émile Pouget, and socialists like Jean Jaurès, Léon Blum, and Francis de Pressensé. Despite the harshness of the laws' provisions, their application was inconsistent. While they could be used to further criminalize anarchists, they were difficult to defend in highly publicized trials, with the "Trial of the Thirty" resulting in the almost complete acquittal of all the accused. Moreover, the effects of those laws to stop anarchist terrorism is hugely debated, as they had the result of radicalizing anarchists which were already at large, effectively pushing for a resumption of attacks.