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We begin with two messages:

Dr. A. Gungur in Turkey says:
I always used to think of France as a place where democracy, freedom of speech, and human rights were all supporting beams of the Eiffel tower. What a sad picture to see from here!

But Arjun in London writes:
Holocaust and genocide denial ARE and SHOULD BE crimes in all countries. The only person who would object to this is someone who hasn't thought about it or experienced it.

Anne-Elizabeth Moutet is a political journalist based in Paris who joins us from our Paris bureau. She highlights elections coming up in France and says it could be aimed at the Armenian community in France.

Andy in the UK is of Armenian descent and says that the 'genocide' is one of the reasons that Armenians live around the world. He says an acknowledgement of this genocide will help all Armenians and that France is not the first to do so. One texter adds that France has good wine but bad politicians.

Gerome Lebry has just emailed.
The french MPs should mind their own business and take care of the genocides they help perpetrate in Rwanda and in Biafra. And what about forced labor in their former colonies a few decades ago and their criminal acts in Ivory Coast today?

More criticism for France from Cameron. He says the French are being hypocritical and these are the kind of laws which were passed by the Nazis in the 30s. Is there where it's all going to end he asks? He then says genocide has occurred many times and these kind of laws aren't applied unless it suits political ends. It's to demonise Muslims he says.

Anne Elizabeth comes back and says that the word genocide has a precise meaning and that all war is not genocide. Mass murder is not genocide. She disagrees with some of the suggestions he makes such as British and French actions in their respective colonies.

Tolga now in Istanbul. He says the law is great blow to the civilised world. Then Nishant in Houston adds that the law is a retrograde step. Very few of you it seems support this law. We'll keep on talking after the news.

Right let's catch up with some of your emails.

Chad in Norway
Letting Turkely in the EU should be made a crime!

Earl in New York
FIRST of all, the French need to get their facts straight. Armed by the Russians, Armenians started a civil war (or uprising, or whatever you want to call it) in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. The Ottomans' response was to relocate the Armenian population (in order to seperate them from the Turkish population). Unfortunately, the relocation was badly implemented, and a lot of Armenians died. HOWEVER, there was NO deliberate genocide. (Back in the '70s) The figure of casualties used to be 600,000. This INCLUDES at least 300,000 Turks that died from Armenian hands during the civil war. How did the figure now become 1.5 million? Why doesn'! t France and the rest of the EU recognize the Turks that died at the Armenians hands during the civil war?

Christian
Even idiots have right to an opinion, sadly.

Chris from Montreal
That is what freedom of speech is.

Dan, Livonia, MI USA
In America, I've been attacked that I have no right to oppose the president because he is so. Even free speech in the largest free speech nation isn't free

Selene, Seattle, WA, USA
People should say whatever they like. I think that most of the callers are overlooking the freedom of speech issues here. I am jewish and I have confirmation that half of my grandparents families were killed in the holocaust but that does not mean that people do not have the right to think that they were not. I don't think that France or anyone else with laws such as this drew the lines incorrectly when it comes to freedom of speech. There are laws against genocide but there should not be laws against ignorance - which is the state of people who do not believe in genocide. They have the right to think whatever they wish even in the face of contrary facts. If I want to believe that the sky is green, that is my right, even if I can look outside and see that I am wrong every day of my life.

We're back after the news and Chris in Hong Kong is the first person to defend the law. He says this needs to be recognised as a genocide. But Tolga replies straight away that there are lots of others that should be what happened to the Armenians. What about Bosnia in the 1990s and the Holocaust he asks?

For the moment the last word to Kim Olson who emails 'You can change what people can say, but you can't change what people can think. To not allow people to say what they think is a band-aid for a much larger problem.'

For now we're going to move on to life in Iraq and that report on the death toll there.

Layla is in Baghdad and says the figures are exaggerated. But Sadha who has recently left disagrees. She's here in the stuido and says she sometimes doesn't feel sympathy because so many people die. She said she felt like she was just waiting to die. Layla says her brother died and there is killing but she's still adamant that the report is not accurate.

Now Matin who is northern Iraq. Does he believe these figures? He doubts them. Where did they get their information he asks? Sadha has worked a journalist in Baghdad and doubts who that accurate death tolls are possible outside Baghdad. Ishtar has seen bodies lying on the street in Baghdad but says she's never seen anyone counting them.

For a final comment Mustafa is also calling from Iraq. He hears the explosions and doesn't have to count the dead. He knows the toll is so high, though he has no idea how you can put a figure on it. And also this email from Jawad.

I am tuning in to your program from Waterloo, Canada.
Why is it such an important issue to figure out how many people have lost their lives in Iraq thus far? Are we waiting for this number to rise a little more so that world consciousness can start to come about? The governments of the US and UK are largely responsible for the destruction and current conflicts in Iraq. What will ordinary Americans and British civilians do to put and end to try and put an end to this disaster? These are the questions that need to be put on the table.

For the final few minutes we're going to hear from New Yorkers: yesterday a plane flew into a high rise block and MARK & PAULINE both witnessed the incident.... Pauline is in the building opposite and was sitting at her computer. 'There was this huge sound and then there were flames all over my computer. Everything was dropping to the ground outside my window. I didn't know what it was.' Mark joins the conversation... 'Initially I thought it was a copycat attack after 9/11. I saw wings and then it struck. It was utterly surreal.'

I'm often in the studio so have really enjoyed blogging through the show. Thanks for all your comments. Anu will be back on air tomorrow and you can decide the stories on the show. Do get in touch. Bye.