France To Consider Legalizing Assisted Suicide Following Jean-Luc Godard's Death

France will hold a national debate on end-of-life options that will include exploring the possibility of legalizing assisted suicide, French President Emmanuel Macron announced following the death of renowned French-Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard via the method.

A body composed of citizens will work on the issue in the coming months in coordination with health workers, while local debates are to be organized in French regions, Macron said in a statement Tuesday, France24 reported.

The government will also hold discussions with lawmakers from all political parties at the same time to find the broadest consensus, according to the outlet.

Macron made the announcement the same day Godard died by assisted suicide at his home in Rolle, Switzerland.

The 91-year-old pioneer of the 1960s French New Wave moment, who had "multiple invalidating pathologies," died peacefully while surrounded by loved ones, a report by the Associated Press said.

"We have lost a national treasure, the eye of a genius," Macron was quoted as saying in his tribute to the cinema icon.

There is "a bit of Godard in nearly all films today," according to Frederic Maire, the president of the Swiss Film Archive.

"Nearly all directors who have gone to film school today, or learned movie-making at cinematheques, have seen Godard's films - and were amazed, jolted and shocked by his way of telling stories," he said.

Voluntary euthanasia is illegal in Switzerland, but the country has allowed assisted suicide as long as the motives are not selfish since 1942, according to the U.K.-based pro-assisted dying group Dignity in Dying.

Non-resident foreigners are also allowed under Swiss law to die by assisted suicide as long as they take a lethal dose of drugs themselves.

In contrast, euthanasia is not legal under current French law despite French polls in recent years steadily showing that many people are in favor of its legalization.

Patients in France are allowed to request "deep, continuous sedation altering consciousness until death," but only when their conditions are likely to lead to a quick death.

Macron promised during his campaign for reelection earlier this year to open the debate on end-of-death options. The head of state even suggested he was personally in favor of legalizing physician-assisted suicide, according to the reports.

Some French patients are allegedly traveling to other countries in Europe to seek further options.

Euthanasia is currently legal in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain under certain conditions.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.