Issued on: 09/10/2021
President Emmanuel will be accompanied by former justice minister Robert Badinter, the architect of France's abolition of capital punishment.
© Gonzalo Fuentes, AFP
Text by: FRANCE 24Follow
French President Emmanuel Macron commemorates the 40th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France at the Pantheon on Saturday, in the presence of Robert Badinter, the former justice minister who played a key role in getting the law passed.
Text by: FRANCE 24Follow
French President Emmanuel Macron commemorates the 40th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France at the Pantheon on Saturday, in the presence of Robert Badinter, the former justice minister who played a key role in getting the law passed.
To mark the anniversary, Badinter, the architect of the abolition of capital punishment in France, is due to give a speech alongside Macron. The current justice minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti, will also take part in the commemorations.
Legislation abolishing the death penalty was adopted by the National Assembly on September 18, 1981, four months after the election of François Mitterrand to the Élysée. The scrapping of the guillotine was officially enacted on October 9, 1981.
Robert Badinter, the lawyer who fought to end the death penalty in France
Issued on: 09/10/2021 -
Video by: Olivia SALAZAR-WINSPEAR
After many decades of legal wrangling, France finally abolished the death penalty in 1981.The legislation was passed under socialist president François Mitterrand, but the flagbearer for the move was an indefatigable lawyer who was to become minister for justice, Robert Badinter.
"I have the honour, on behalf of the Government of the French Republic, to submit to the National Assembly the abolition of capital punishment in France." This statement by France's then justice minister, Robert Badinter, marked the official end of the death penalty in France.
When François Mitterrand became president in May 1981, he appointed lawyer and activist Badinter as his justice minister. Abolition of the death penalty became a priority for the new socialist government, but it was met with strong resistance in some quarters.
Badinter had witnessed firsthand the gruesome finality of the guillotine and was determined to push the law through. He said he who could no longer bear decapitations, including that of his own client, Roger Bontems, who was executed for complicity in a lethal armed robbery.
"When I saw Bontems being executed – executing is cutting a living man in two! – I swore I wouldn't just be opposed to the death penalty, I would become an activist," he later said.
France's National Assembly eventually passed the legislation on September 18, 1981, with 363 votes in favour and 117 against. Weeks later, capital punishment was formally abolished by the Act of October 9, 1981.
Issued on: 09/10/2021 -
Robert Badinter, France's former Minister of Justice, announcing the abolition of the death penalty to French parliament in 1981.
© FRANCE 24 screengrab.
Video by: Olivia SALAZAR-WINSPEAR
After many decades of legal wrangling, France finally abolished the death penalty in 1981.The legislation was passed under socialist president François Mitterrand, but the flagbearer for the move was an indefatigable lawyer who was to become minister for justice, Robert Badinter.
"I have the honour, on behalf of the Government of the French Republic, to submit to the National Assembly the abolition of capital punishment in France." This statement by France's then justice minister, Robert Badinter, marked the official end of the death penalty in France.
When François Mitterrand became president in May 1981, he appointed lawyer and activist Badinter as his justice minister. Abolition of the death penalty became a priority for the new socialist government, but it was met with strong resistance in some quarters.
Badinter had witnessed firsthand the gruesome finality of the guillotine and was determined to push the law through. He said he who could no longer bear decapitations, including that of his own client, Roger Bontems, who was executed for complicity in a lethal armed robbery.
"When I saw Bontems being executed – executing is cutting a living man in two! – I swore I wouldn't just be opposed to the death penalty, I would become an activist," he later said.
France's National Assembly eventually passed the legislation on September 18, 1981, with 363 votes in favour and 117 against. Weeks later, capital punishment was formally abolished by the Act of October 9, 1981.
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