Like most human rights treaties, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) contains an emergency clause (Art. 15 ECHR). This clause defines the conditions for – and the limits of – a derogation from the human rights obligations under the convention in the case of an emergency. Following the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015, the state of emergency (etat d’urgence) was declared in France and maintained in force till 1 November 2017. In many cases, the counterterrorism measures adopted by the French authorities interfered with the rights set forth in the Convention. The question arises as to whether the interference could be justified by the state of emergency or whether the Convention was violated. This article analyzes the most important groups of cases: house searches, house arrests, and bans on demonstrations. As a result, it can be shown that the situation in France satisfied the criteria for a lawful derogation from the ECHR. However, some of the actual measures seem to have gone beyond what was strictly necessary and, so, violated the Convention. This particular case may also give some indication of the role that international and European human rights regimes can play in balancing fundamental rights and measures in the “fight against terrorism.”