The French National Assembly has passed a bill outlawing the denial of Genocide and war crimes that are accepted as such by the French government.

The bill has to go before the Senate next year, before becoming law; however it is thought to be unlikely to be passed by the senate.

The Turkish government has reacted by cutting all ties with France after Thursday’s vote.

Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Paris and frozen all diplomatic and political ties and cancelled all economic, military and political meetings.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also banned the use of French military planes and ships of Turkish facilities.

"This will open very grave and irreparable wounds," he said.

Mr Erdogan told reporters: "This is politics based on racism, discrimination and xenophobia."

"This is using Turkophobia and Islamophobia to gain votes, and it raises concerns regarding these issues not only in France but all Europe."

Erdogan said the bill was "a clear example of how racism, discrimination and anti-Muslim sentiment have reached new heights in France and in Europe."

He said: "President Sarkozy's ambition is to win an election based on promoting animosity against Turks and Muslims."

The president also accused France of committing genocide in Algeria during colonial times.

"What the French did in Algeria was genocide," he said.

"They were mercilessly martyred. If Mr Sarkozy doesn't know there was a genocide, he can ask his father, Pal Sarkozy … who was a legionnaire in Algeria in the 1940s. I'm sure he has a lot to tell his son about the massacres committed by the French in Algeria."

Around 1.5 million Armenians are thought to have been killed during the genocide, which was recognised by the French parliament in 2001.

Over 500,000 ethnic Armenians live in France and most proponents of the bill are from constituencies which have a high proportion of Armenians.