Capital punishment in France
Encyclopedia
Capital punishment was practiced in France from the Middle Ages until 1977, when the last execution
took place by guillotine
, being the only legal method since the French Revolution
. The last person to be executed in France
was Hamida Djandoubi
, who was put to death in September 1977. The death penalty was abolished in French law in 1981. It is now also forbidden by the French constitution
, and by several human rights treaties to which France is a party.
, depending on the crime and the status of the condemned person, such as decapitation by sword (reserved for nobles), hanging for thieves, and burning for heretics.
The guillotine had been proposed as a means of execution in 1789 by Joseph-Ignace Guillotin
. The French Revolution marked the end of hanging by requiring all executions to be accomplished by means of the blade, rather than reserving it only for nobles. However, as beheading by a hand-held axe or blade was a comparatively inefficient and unreliable method of execution compared with hanging, the mechanical guillotine was adopted; it was also regarded as a more humane way to take the life of the condemned than earlier messy ways of execution. The device was first used on Nicolas Jacques Pelletier
on 25 April 1792. Guillotine usage then spread to other countries such as Germany (where it had been used since before the revolution), Italy, Sweden (used in a single execution) and French colonies in Africa, French Guyana and French Indochina
.
who was executed on 17 June 1939 outside the St-Pierre prison (now part of the Palais de Justice
). Photographs of the execution appeared in the press, and apparently this spectacle led the government to stop public executions and to hold them instead in prison courtyards, such as La Santé Prison
in Paris. Following the law, the first to be guillotined inside a prison was Jean Dehaene, who had murdered his estranged wife and father-in-law, executed on 19 July 1939 at St-Brieuc.
The 1940s and the wartime period saw an increase in the number of executions, including the first executions of women since the 19th century.
In the 1950s to the 1970s, the number of executions steadily decreased, with for example President Georges Pompidou
, between 1969 to 1974, giving clemency to all but three people out of the fifteen sentenced to death. President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
oversaw the last executions.
Up to 1981, the French penal code stated that:
President Charles de Gaulle
, who supported the death penalty, commuted 19 death sentences and during his term of office 13 people were guillotined, and a few others executed by firing squad for crimes against the security of the state (the last of those was OAS member, Lt. Colonel Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry
, who was an organizer of the famous assassination attempt on de Gaulle in 1962).
Georges Rapin, guillotined in 1960, originally had his sentence commuted by de Gaulle. However, he refused a pardon and was executed.
There were no executions during two terms of Interim President Alain Poher
in 1969 and 1974.
President Georges Pompidou
, who personally was a death penalty opponent, commuted all but three death sentences imposed during his term.
President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
, who, according to his own words, "felt a deep aversion to the death penalty", also commuted all but three death sentences. He was President at the time of the last execution in France.
, on 6 October 1791, refused to abolish the death penalty.
On 26 October 1795, the National Convention abolished capital punishment, but only to signify the day of general peace. With the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte, the death penalty was reinstated on 12 February 1810, in the French Imperial Penal Code.
The President of the Republic Armand Fallières
, a supporter of abolition, continued to systematically pardon every convict condemned to death over the first three years of his seven-year office.
In 1906 the Commission of the budget of the Chamber of Deputies voted for withdrawing funding for the guillotine, with the aim of stopping the execution procedure. On 3 July 1908 the Garde des Sceaux, Aristide Briand
, submitted a draft law to the Deputies, dated November 1906, on the abolition of the death penalty, but, despite the support of Jean Jaurès
, the bill was rejected on 8 December by 330 votes to 201.
Under the Vichy Regime, Marshal Pétain
refused to pardon five women due to be guillotined (something that had not occurred for more than 50 years). Pétain himself was sentenced to death following the overthrow of the Vichy Regime, but General Charles de Gaulle commuted Pétain's sentence to life imprisonment on the grounds of poor health. Other Vichy officials, including notably Pierre Laval
, were shot. Under Vincent Auriol
's presidency, three more women were beheaded, one in Algeria, two in France, the last one in Angers
, 1949.
With defence by Robert Badinter
, Patrick Henry escaped being condemned to death on 21 January 1977 for the murder of a child. Numerous newspapers predicted the end of the death penalty. On 10 September 1977, Hamida Djandoubi
was guillotined, the last person executed in France.
Robert Badinter, a long time opponent of capital punishment and the defending lawyer of some of the last men to be executed, became minister of justice and proposed the final abolition of the death penalty in 1981, which was pushed through the National Assembly
with the backing of newly elected president François Mitterrand
.
) declare themselves to be in favour of the death penalty, its re-establishment would not be possible without the unilateral French rejection of several international treaties
.
On 20 December 1985, France ratified Additional Protocol number 6 to the European Convention
to Safeguard Human Rights
and fundamental liberties
. This means that France can no longer re-establish the death penalty, except in times of war or by denouncing the Convention.
On 21 June 2001, Jacques Chirac
sent a letter to the association "Ensemble" saying he was against the death penalty: "It's a fight we have to lead with determination and conviction, Because no justice is infallible and each execution can kill an innocent; because nothing can legitimise the execution of minors or of people suffering from mental deficiencies; because death can never constitute an act of justice".
On 3 May 2002, France and 30 other countries signed Protocol number 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights. This forbids the death penalty in all circumstances, even in times of war. It went into effect on 1 July 2003, after having been ratified by 10 states.
Despite the above, in 2004, a law proposition (number 1521) was placed before the French National Assembly
, suggesting re-establishment of the death penalty for terrorist acts. The bill was not adopted. On 3 January 2006, Jacques Chirac announced a revision of the Constitution aimed at writing out the death penalty. (On the previous 13 October, the Constitutional Council had deemed the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the international pact necessitated such a revision of the Constitution. The protocol concerned civil and political rights aimed at abolishing the death penalty.)
On 19 February 2007, the Congress of France
(the National Assembly and the Senate of France, reunited for the day) voted overwhelmingly a modification of the Constitution that states that "no one can be sentenced to the death penalty". There were 828 votes for the modification, and 26 against.
As with all surveys on a subject this sensitive, public opinion is quite changeable, depending on current affairs. The different surveys taken have shown that, at the time of appalling crimes (particularly those that affect children), public opinion can quickly return to a majority in favour of re-establishing capital punishment.
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
took place by guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
, being the only legal method since the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. The last person to be executed in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
was Hamida Djandoubi
Hamida Djandoubi
Hamida Djandoubi was the last person to be guillotined in France, at Baumettes Prison in Marseille. He was a Tunisian immigrant who had been convicted of the torture and murder of 21-year-old Elisabeth Bousquet, his former girlfriend, in Marseille...
, who was put to death in September 1977. The death penalty was abolished in French law in 1981. It is now also forbidden by the French constitution
Constitution of France
The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth...
, and by several human rights treaties to which France is a party.
The Ancien Régime
Prior to 1791, under the "Ancien Régime", there existed a variety of means of capital punishment in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, depending on the crime and the status of the condemned person, such as decapitation by sword (reserved for nobles), hanging for thieves, and burning for heretics.
Adoption of the guillotine
The first campaign towards the abolition of the death penalty began on 30 May 1791, but on 6 October that year the National Assembly refused to pass a law abolishing the death penalty. However, they did abolish torture, and also declared that there would now be only one method of execution: 'Tout condamné à mort aura la tête tranchée' (Anyone condemned to death will have their head cut off).The guillotine had been proposed as a means of execution in 1789 by Joseph-Ignace Guillotin
Joseph-Ignace Guillotin
Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin was a French physician who proposed on 10 October 1789 the use of a device to carry out death penalties in France. While he did not invent the guillotine, and in fact opposed the death penalty, his name became an eponym for it...
. The French Revolution marked the end of hanging by requiring all executions to be accomplished by means of the blade, rather than reserving it only for nobles. However, as beheading by a hand-held axe or blade was a comparatively inefficient and unreliable method of execution compared with hanging, the mechanical guillotine was adopted; it was also regarded as a more humane way to take the life of the condemned than earlier messy ways of execution. The device was first used on Nicolas Jacques Pelletier
Nicolas Jacques Pelletier
Nicolas Jacques Pelletier was a French highwayman who was the first person to be executed by means of the guillotine.-The robbery and subsequent sentencing:Pelletier routinely associated with a group of known criminals...
on 25 April 1792. Guillotine usage then spread to other countries such as Germany (where it had been used since before the revolution), Italy, Sweden (used in a single execution) and French colonies in Africa, French Guyana and French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
.
1939 onwards
Public executions were the norm and continued until 1939. From the mid 19th century, the usual time of day for executions changed from around 3 pm to morning and then to dawn. Executions had been carried out in large central public spaces such as market squares but gradually moved towards the local prison. In the early 20th century, the guillotine was set up just outside the prison gates. The last person to be publicly guillotined was six-time murderer Eugen WeidmannEugen Weidmann
Eugen Weidmann was the last person to be publicly executed in France. Executions by guillotine in France continued in private until September 10, 1977, when Hamida Djandoubi was the last person to be executed....
who was executed on 17 June 1939 outside the St-Pierre prison (now part of the Palais de Justice
Palais de Justice, Paris
The Palais de Justice , located in the Île de la Cité in central Paris, France, is built on the site of the former royal palace of Saint Louis, of which the Sainte Chapelle remains. Thus the justice of the state has been dispensed at this site since medieval times...
). Photographs of the execution appeared in the press, and apparently this spectacle led the government to stop public executions and to hold them instead in prison courtyards, such as La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison is a prison operated by the Ministry of Justice located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the most famous prisons in France, with both VIP and high security wings....
in Paris. Following the law, the first to be guillotined inside a prison was Jean Dehaene, who had murdered his estranged wife and father-in-law, executed on 19 July 1939 at St-Brieuc.
The 1940s and the wartime period saw an increase in the number of executions, including the first executions of women since the 19th century.
In the 1950s to the 1970s, the number of executions steadily decreased, with for example President Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
, between 1969 to 1974, giving clemency to all but three people out of the fifteen sentenced to death. President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
oversaw the last executions.
Up to 1981, the French penal code stated that:
- Article 12: "Any person sentenced to death shall have his head cut off.".
- Article 13: "By exception to article 12, when the death penalty is handed down for crimes against the safety of the State, execution shall take place by firing squad."
- Article 14: "If the families of the executed persons wish to reclaim the bodies, they shall have them; it shall then be for them to have them buried without any pomp."
Clemency
The exclusive right to commute the death sentence belonged to the President of the Republic, as in earlier ages it had belonged to the Monarch.President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, who supported the death penalty, commuted 19 death sentences and during his term of office 13 people were guillotined, and a few others executed by firing squad for crimes against the security of the state (the last of those was OAS member, Lt. Colonel Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry
Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry
Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry was a French military air weaponry engineer who attempted to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle on 22 August 1962, following Algerian independence...
, who was an organizer of the famous assassination attempt on de Gaulle in 1962).
Georges Rapin, guillotined in 1960, originally had his sentence commuted by de Gaulle. However, he refused a pardon and was executed.
There were no executions during two terms of Interim President Alain Poher
Alain Poher
Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher was a French centrist politician, affiliated first with the Popular Republican Movement and later with the Democratic Centre. He served as a Senator for Val-de-Marne from 1946 to 1995. He was President of the Senate from 3 October 1968 to 1 October 1992 and, in that...
in 1969 and 1974.
President Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
, who personally was a death penalty opponent, commuted all but three death sentences imposed during his term.
President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
, who, according to his own words, "felt a deep aversion to the death penalty", also commuted all but three death sentences. He was President at the time of the last execution in France.
Amnesties
One of the examples of general amnesty for all people sentenced to death and awaiting execution took place in 1959 when, after de Gaulle's inauguration, all sentences were commuted (amnesty is not an executive clemency, rather it is an act of parliament).Abolition
The first official debate on the death penalty in France took place on 30 May 1791, with the presentation of a bill aimed at abolishing it. The advocate was Louis-Michel Lepeletier of Saint-Fargeau and the bill was supported by Maximilien de Robespierre. However, the National Constituent AssemblyNational Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
, on 6 October 1791, refused to abolish the death penalty.
On 26 October 1795, the National Convention abolished capital punishment, but only to signify the day of general peace. With the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte, the death penalty was reinstated on 12 February 1810, in the French Imperial Penal Code.
The President of the Republic Armand Fallières
Armand Fallières
Clément Armand Fallières was a French politician, president of the French republic from 1906 to 1913.He was born at Mézin in the département of Lot-et-Garonne, France, where his father was clerk of the peace...
, a supporter of abolition, continued to systematically pardon every convict condemned to death over the first three years of his seven-year office.
In 1906 the Commission of the budget of the Chamber of Deputies voted for withdrawing funding for the guillotine, with the aim of stopping the execution procedure. On 3 July 1908 the Garde des Sceaux, Aristide Briand
Aristide Briand
Aristide Briand was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life :...
, submitted a draft law to the Deputies, dated November 1906, on the abolition of the death penalty, but, despite the support of Jean Jaurès
Jean Jaurès
Jean Léon Jaurès was a French Socialist leader. Initially an Opportunist Republican, he evolved into one of the first social democrats, becoming the leader, in 1902, of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. Both parties merged in 1905 in...
, the bill was rejected on 8 December by 330 votes to 201.
Under the Vichy Regime, Marshal Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
refused to pardon five women due to be guillotined (something that had not occurred for more than 50 years). Pétain himself was sentenced to death following the overthrow of the Vichy Regime, but General Charles de Gaulle commuted Pétain's sentence to life imprisonment on the grounds of poor health. Other Vichy officials, including notably Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
, were shot. Under Vincent Auriol
Vincent Auriol
Vincent Jules Auriol was a French politician who served as the first President of the Fourth Republic from 1947 to 1954. He also served as interim President of the Provisional Government from November to December 1946, making him one of only three people who were heads of state of the French...
's presidency, three more women were beheaded, one in Algeria, two in France, the last one in Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, 1949.
With defence by Robert Badinter
Robert Badinter
Robert Badinter is a high-profile French criminal lawyer, university professor and politician mainly known for his struggle against the death penalty, the abolition of which he successfully sponsored in Parliament in 1981...
, Patrick Henry escaped being condemned to death on 21 January 1977 for the murder of a child. Numerous newspapers predicted the end of the death penalty. On 10 September 1977, Hamida Djandoubi
Hamida Djandoubi
Hamida Djandoubi was the last person to be guillotined in France, at Baumettes Prison in Marseille. He was a Tunisian immigrant who had been convicted of the torture and murder of 21-year-old Elisabeth Bousquet, his former girlfriend, in Marseille...
was guillotined, the last person executed in France.
Robert Badinter, a long time opponent of capital punishment and the defending lawyer of some of the last men to be executed, became minister of justice and proposed the final abolition of the death penalty in 1981, which was pushed through the National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
with the backing of newly elected president François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
.
The abolition process in 1981
- 16 March 1981: During the presidential election campaignFrench presidential election, 1981The French presidential election of 1981 took place on 10 May 1981, giving the presidency of France to François Mitterrand, the first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic....
, François MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
declared that he was against the death penalty. This was taken up in the Socialist PartySocialist Party (France)The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
's 110 Propositions for France110 Propositions for France110 Propositions for France was the name of the Socialist Party's program for the 1981 presidential election during which the Socialist Party's candidate, François Mitterrand, was elected by 51.76% of the people...
electoral program, along with others justice reforms. Mitterrand was elected PresidentPresident of the French RepublicThe President of the French Republic colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France's elected Head of State....
on 10 May.
- 25 May: François Mitterrand pardoned Philippe Maurice, the last person condemned to death to be pardoned.
- 26 August: The Council of Ministers approved the bill to abolish the death penalty.
- 17 September: Robert BadinterRobert BadinterRobert Badinter is a high-profile French criminal lawyer, university professor and politician mainly known for his struggle against the death penalty, the abolition of which he successfully sponsored in Parliament in 1981...
presented the bill to the Assemblée Nationale. It passed on 18 September, by 363 votes to 117.
- 30 September: Several amendments were rejected in the SénatFrench SenateThe Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
. The law was officially passed by the two chambers.
- 9 October: The law was promulgated. The last west European country to practice the death penalty abolished it.
Feasibility of re-establishment
Today, although a few French politicians (notably the far-right leader Jean-Marie Le PenJean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
) declare themselves to be in favour of the death penalty, its re-establishment would not be possible without the unilateral French rejection of several international treaties
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
.
On 20 December 1985, France ratified Additional Protocol number 6 to the European Convention
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
to Safeguard Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and fundamental liberties
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
. This means that France can no longer re-establish the death penalty, except in times of war or by denouncing the Convention.
On 21 June 2001, Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
sent a letter to the association "Ensemble" saying he was against the death penalty: "It's a fight we have to lead with determination and conviction, Because no justice is infallible and each execution can kill an innocent; because nothing can legitimise the execution of minors or of people suffering from mental deficiencies; because death can never constitute an act of justice".
On 3 May 2002, France and 30 other countries signed Protocol number 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights. This forbids the death penalty in all circumstances, even in times of war. It went into effect on 1 July 2003, after having been ratified by 10 states.
Despite the above, in 2004, a law proposition (number 1521) was placed before the French National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
, suggesting re-establishment of the death penalty for terrorist acts. The bill was not adopted. On 3 January 2006, Jacques Chirac announced a revision of the Constitution aimed at writing out the death penalty. (On the previous 13 October, the Constitutional Council had deemed the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the international pact necessitated such a revision of the Constitution. The protocol concerned civil and political rights aimed at abolishing the death penalty.)
On 19 February 2007, the Congress of France
Congress of France
The French Congress is the name given to the body created when both houses of the present-day French Parliament—the National Assembly and the Senate—meet at the Palace of Versailles to vote on revisions to the Constitution or to listen to an address by the President of the French...
(the National Assembly and the Senate of France, reunited for the day) voted overwhelmingly a modification of the Constitution that states that "no one can be sentenced to the death penalty". There were 828 votes for the modification, and 26 against.
Variations in French opinion
During the twentieth century, French opinion on the death penalty has greatly changed, as many polls have showed large differences from one time to another.- In 1908, Le Petit ParisienLe Petit ParisienLe Petit Parisien was a prominent French newspaper during the French Third Republic. It was published between 1876 and 1944, and its circulation was over 2 million after the First World War.-Publishing:...
published a poll in which 77% of people asked were in favour of the death penalty. - In 1960, a survey from the IFOPInstitut français d'opinion publiqueThe Institut français d'opinion publique is an international marketing firm, whose motto is "Connection creates value". Its CEO is Laurence Parisot, who is also the current leader of the MEDEF French employers' trade union...
showed that 50% of the French were against, while 39% were for. - In 1972, in a survey from the same institute, 27% of those surveyed were for abolition while 63% were for capital punishment.
- In 1981, Le FigaroLe FigaroLe Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
carried out a survey the day after the vote for abolition. It indicated that 62% of the French were for maintaining the death penalty. - In 1998, IFOP's and France SoirFrance SoirFrance Soir is a French daily newspaper that prospered during the 1950s and 1960s, but it has declined since then under various owners. It was re-launched as a populist tabloid in 2006.-History:...
's survey showed that opinions were split in half, with 54% against the death penalty and 44% for it. - In 2006, TNS Sofres survey show opposition of the French people to death penalty generally: 52% are now against death penalty and 41% are pro-death penalty.
- In 2007, according to Argus Reid Global Monitor, 52% of French are anti-death penalty and 45% are pro-death penalty. http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/death_penalty_backed_in_four_countries/
As with all surveys on a subject this sensitive, public opinion is quite changeable, depending on current affairs. The different surveys taken have shown that, at the time of appalling crimes (particularly those that affect children), public opinion can quickly return to a majority in favour of re-establishing capital punishment.
Executions since 1959
| Executed person | Date of execution | Place of execution | Crime | Method | Under President |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Dupont | 14 April 1959 | Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
Child murder Child murder The murder of children is considered an abhorrent crime in much of the world; they are perceived within their communities and the state at large as being vulnerable, and therefore especially susceptible to abduction and murder. The protection of children from abuse and possible death often involves... with premeditation |
Guillotine Guillotine The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body... |
Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Abcha Ahmed | 30 July 1959 | Metz Metz Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place... |
Murder Murder Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide... with premeditation |
Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| René Pons | 21 June 1960 | Bordeaux Bordeaux Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture... |
Matricide Matricide Matricide is the act of killing one's mother. As for any type of killing, motives can vary significantly.- Known or suspected matricides :* Amastris, queen of Heraclea, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC.... |
Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Georges Rapin | 27 July 1960 | Paris | Murder with premeditation | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Dehil Salah | 1 October 1961 | Paris | Murder with premeditation | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Louis Jalbaud | 7 December 1961 | Marseille Marseille Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of... |
Multiple murders before robbery | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Lt. Roger Degueldre Roger Degueldre Lieutenant Roger Hercule Gustave Degueldre was a leader of the OAS Delta Commandos in the last months of French rule in Algeria. There is some dispute about his origins... |
6 July 1962 | Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.... |
Treason/Multiple Murders | Firing Squad | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Lt. Col. Jean Bastien-Thiry | 11 March 1963 | Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.... |
Treason/Assassination Assassination To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be... attempt against the President |
Firing Squad | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Stanislas Juhant | 17 March 1964 | Paris | Murder after robbery | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Raymond Anama | 17 June 1964 | Fort-de-France Fort-de-France Fort-de-France is the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Exports include sugar, rum, tinned fruit, and cacao.-Geography:... |
Murder with premeditation | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Robert Actis | 27 June 1964 | Lyon Lyon Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais.... |
Murder before robbery | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Mazouz Ghaouti | 27 June 1964 | Lyon Lyon Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais.... |
Murder with premeditation | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Lambert Gau | 22 June 1965 | Fort-de-France Fort-de-France Fort-de-France is the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Exports include sugar, rum, tinned fruit, and cacao.-Geography:... |
Murder with premeditation | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Saïd Hachani | 11 October 1966 | Lyon Lyon Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais.... |
Multiple murders with premeditation | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Gunther Volz | 26 December 1967 | Metz Metz Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place... |
Child murder after rape | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Jean-Laurent Olivier | 11 March 1969 | Amiens Amiens Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy... |
Multiple child murders after rape | Guillotine | Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.... |
| Roger Bontems | 28 November 1972 | Paris | Felony murder, Buffet's accomplice | Guillotine | Georges Pompidou Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:... |
| Claude Buffet | 28 November 1972 | Paris | Warden murder while already serving a life sentence | Guillotine | Georges Pompidou Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:... |
| Ali Benyanes | 12 May 1973 | Marseille Marseille Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of... |
Child murder after attempted murder | Guillotine | Georges Pompidou Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:... |
| Christian Ranucci Christian Ranucci Christian Ranucci was one of the last people executed in France, having been convicted of the abduction and murder of a young girl, Marie-Dolorès Rambla.... |
28 July 1976 | Marseille Marseille Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of... |
Child murder after kidnapping | Guillotine | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981... |
| Jérôme Carrein Jérôme Carrein Jérôme Carrein, , was the second-to-last convicted criminal to be executed by guillotine in France.On 27 October 1975 in Arleux, Northern France, Jérôme Carrein, father of five children, often of no fixed abode, alcoholic and a tuberculosis sufferer, met Cathy Petit, an eight-year-old local girl... |
23 June 1977 | Douai Douai -Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying... |
Child murder after attempted rape | Guillotine | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981... |
| Hamida Djandoubi Hamida Djandoubi Hamida Djandoubi was the last person to be guillotined in France, at Baumettes Prison in Marseille. He was a Tunisian immigrant who had been convicted of the torture and murder of 21-year-old Elisabeth Bousquet, his former girlfriend, in Marseille... |
10 September 1977 | Marseille Marseille Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of... |
Torture murder Torture murder Torture murder is a loosely defined term to describe a murder where death has been preceded by the torture of the victim. In many legal jurisdictions a murder involving "exceptional brutality or cruelty" will involve a harsher sentence.-Punishment:... |
Guillotine | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981... |
Notable opponents
- VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
(writer and philosopher) - Nicolas de CondorcetMarquis de CondorcetMarie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet , known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist whose Condorcet method in voting tally selects the candidate who would beat each of the other candidates in a run-off election...
(philosopher) - Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
(writer and politician) - Alphonse de LamartineAlphonse de LamartineAlphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine was a French writer, poet and politician who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic.-Career:...
(writer and politician) - Gaston LerouxGaston LerouxGaston Louis Alfred Leroux was a French journalist and author of detective fiction.In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera , which has been made into several film and stage productions of the same name, notably the 1925 film starring Lon...
(writer) - Aristide BriandAristide BriandAristide Briand was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life :...
(politician, long-time Prime Minister and Minister) - Jean JaurèsJean JaurèsJean Léon Jaurès was a French Socialist leader. Initially an Opportunist Republican, he evolved into one of the first social democrats, becoming the leader, in 1902, of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. Both parties merged in 1905 in...
(Socialist leader) - Armand FallièresArmand FallièresClément Armand Fallières was a French politician, president of the French republic from 1906 to 1913.He was born at Mézin in the département of Lot-et-Garonne, France, where his father was clerk of the peace...
(President) - Michel FoucaultMichel FoucaultMichel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
(philosopher) - Albert CamusAlbert CamusAlbert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
(writer) - Robert BadinterRobert BadinterRobert Badinter is a high-profile French criminal lawyer, university professor and politician mainly known for his struggle against the death penalty, the abolition of which he successfully sponsored in Parliament in 1981...
(attorney and Minister of Justice) - François MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
(President) - Jacques ChiracJacques ChiracJacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
(President) - Georges BrassensGeorges BrassensGeorges Brassens , 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981), was a French singer-songwriter and poet.Brassens was born in Sète, a town in southern France near Montpellier...
(singer and poet)
Notable advocates
- Charles de Secondat, baron de MontesquieuCharles de Secondat, baron de MontesquieuCharles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu , generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment...
(philosopher) - Jean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
(philosopher) - Benjamin ConstantBenjamin ConstantHenri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque was a Swiss-born French nobleman, thinker, writer and politician.-Biography:...
(philosopher and politician) - Auguste ComteAuguste ComteIsidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
(philosopher) - Charles de GaulleCharles de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
(President) (only for men; commuted a majority of sentences) - Jean-Marie Le PenJean-Marie Le PenJean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
(politician) - Alain MadelinAlain MadelinAlain Madelin is a French politician and a former minister of that country.Madelin, a strong supporter of laissez-faire economics, was a candidate in the 2002 French presidential election as the leader of the Démocratie Libérale party, where he scored 3.91% on the first round...
(politician)