Public execution by guillotine in Lons-le-Saunier, 1897

Capital punishment in France was abolished in 1981. The last executions took place in 1977 - being the last in the then European Community. The last person to be executed was Hamida Djandoubi, on September 10 and France's last executioner was Marcel Chevalier. Public guillotining in Lons-le-Saunier, 1878 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Public guillotining in Lons-le-Saunier, 1878 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Lons-le-Saunier is a commune of France, préfecture (capital) of the Jura département. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the State as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offenses. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... Hamida Djandoubi (1949?–10 September 1977) was the last person to be guillotined in France, at Baumettes Prison in Marseille. ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... Marcel Chevalier (born 28 February 1921) was the last executioner (headsman) in France. ...

A History of Capital Punishment in France

Adoption of the Guillotine

The guillotine had been proposed as the means of execution in 1789 by Joseph-Ignace Guillotin. 1792 and the French Revolution marked the end of hanging by requiring all executions to happen by means of the blade, rather than reserving it only for nobles. However, as beheading by an axe or blade is a comparatively inefficient method of execution compared to hanging, the suggestion of the guillotine was adopted. It was first used on Nicholas-Jacques Pelletier on April 25. Guillotine usage then spread to other countries. The Maiden, an older Scottish design. ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Portrait of Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (May 28, 1738 - March 26, 1814) did not invent the guillotine, but on October 10, 1789 proposed the use of a mechanical device to carry out death penalties in France. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Liberty Leading the People, a painting by Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 but which has come to be generally accepted as symbolic of French popular uprisings against the monarchy in general. ... April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ...

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Headline text

1939 onwards

Public executions were the norm and continued until 1939. The last person to be publicly guillotined was murderer Eugen Weidmann, on June 17 outside the Palais de Justice at Versailles. Photographs of the execution appeared in the press, and apparently this spectacle provoked the government to cease the practice of public executions. Instead, from June 24, executions were held in La Santé Prison in Paris 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Eugene Weidmann Eugene Weidmann (February 5, 1908–June 17, 1939) was the last person publicly executed in France. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... Palais de Justice (literally Palace of Justice) is French for Hall of Justice. See: Paris Hall of Justice for the one in Paris. ... , Versailles (pronounced , roughly vair-sye’, in French), formerly the de facto capital of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important administrative and judicial center. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... La Santé Prison (French: Maison darrêt de la Santé) is a jail located in Paris, France. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur Tossed by the waves, she does not founder Coordinates : , Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) Administration Subdivisions 20 arrondissements Département Paris (75) Région ÃŽle-de-France Mayor Bertrand Delanoë (PS) City (commune) Characteristics Land Area 86. ...

The 1940s and the wartime period saw an increase in the number of executions, including the first executions of women since the 19th century. // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the 1950s to the 1970s, the number of executions steadily decreased, with for example Georges Pompidou, president of France between 1969 to 1973, giving clemency to all but three people out of the fifteen sentenced to death. President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing oversaw the last executions. The 1950s were the decade that traditionally speaking, spanned the years 1950 through 1959. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (July 5, 1911 – April 2, 1974) was President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. ... The President of France, known officially as the President of the Republic (Président de la République in French), is Frances elected Head of State. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... This article needs to be updated. ...

Abolition

The first official debate on the death penalty in France took place on the 30th 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 Nation Constituant Assembly, on the 6th October 1791, refused to abolish the death penalty. (But it did away with torture).

On the 26th October 1795, the National Convention abolished Capital Punishment, but only to signify the day of general peace. With the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte, the pain of death, which in fact hadn't yet been abolished, was reinstated on the 12th February 1810, in the French Imperial Penal Code.

The President of the Republic Armand Fallieres, a supporter of abolition, continued to systematically pardon every convict condemned to death over his 3 years period in office. Armand Falli res, French statesman Cl ment Armand Falli res (November 6, 1841 - June 22, 1931), was a French politician, president of the French republic from 1906 to 1913. ...

In 1906 the Commission of the budget of the Chamber of Députés voted for the suppression of funding for the guillotine. This vote aimed at stopping the execution procedure. On the 3rd July 1908, the Guard of Sceaux, Aristide Briand, submitted a plan of law to the députés, dated November 1906, on the abolition of the death penalty. Despite the support of Jean Jautres, the plan was rejected on the December 8th by 330 votes against 201.

Under the Vichy Regime, Marshall Petain refused to pardon eight women who would be guillotined (something which hadn't occurred for nearly 50 years) and five others condemned of common right.

With an indictment from Robert Badinter, Patrick Henry escaped being condemned to death on the 21st January 1977 for the murder of a child. Numerous newspapers predict the end of the death penalty. On the 10th September 1977, Hamida Djandoubi is guillotined - he was to be the last person executed in France. Robert Badinter (born March 30, 1928) is a French politician (after being a high-profile criminal lawyer and a university professor in Law). ...

Robert Badinter a long time opponent of Capital Punishment, and coincidentally the defending lawyer of some the last men 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. The book Le Pull-over rouge and consequent film, documenting the possibly unsound conviction and execution of one of these, Christian Ranucci, is credited with helping to bring about this abolition. 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Palais Bourbon, front The French National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) is one of the two houses of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. ... (October 26, 1916 – January 8, 1996) was a French politician. ... Christian Ranucci (April 6, 1954 - July 28, 1976) was one of the last people executed in France, having been convicted of the abduction, sexual assault, and murder of a young girl, Marie-Dolorès Rambla. ...

1981: The Process of Abolition

• 16th March 1981: During the presidential election campaign, François Mitterrand clearly declares that he is against the death penalty. He is elected President of the French Republic on the 10th of May.

• 25th May: François Mitterrand pardons Philippe Maurice - the last person condemned to death to be pardoned.

• 26th August: The Council of Ministers approve the plan of law, abolishing the death penalty.

• 17th September: Robert Badinter presents the law plan to the Assemblée Nationale. It is successfully voted for on the 18th, with 363 votes against 117.

• 30th September: Several amendments of the Sénat are rejected. The law is officially voted for by the two chambers.

• 9th October: The law is promulgated. The last western European country to practice death penalty abolishes it.

(Redirected from 16th March) March 16 is the 75th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (76th in Leap years). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... (October 26, 1916 – January 8, 1996) was a French politician. ... The President of the French Republic (French: Président de la République française) colloquially referred to as President of France, is Frances elected Head of State and also the ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the Légion dhonneur. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... (Redirected from 25th May) May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... (Redirected from 26th August) August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... (Redirected from 17th September) September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... Robert Badinter (born March 30, 1928) is a French politician (after being a high-profile criminal lawyer and a university professor in Law). ... The Palais Bourbon, front The French National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) is one of the two houses of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 92 days remaining, as the final day of September. ... The Senate amphitheater in the Luxembourg Palace The Senate (in French :le Sénat) is the upper house of the Parliament of France. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in Leap years). ...

Feasibility of re-establishment

Today, although many French politicians declare themselves to be in favour of the death penalty, it's re-establishment would not be possible without the unilateral French rejection of several international treaties.

Thus, on the 20th December 1985, France ratified "additional protocol number 6" at the European Convention to safeguard human rights and fundamental liberties. This meant that France can no longer re-establish the death penalty, except in times of war or by denouncing the Convention.

On the 21st June 2001, Jaques Chirac sent a letter to the association "Ensemble" saying he was against the death penalty: "It's a fight which we have to lead with determination and conviction. Because no justice is infallible and each execution can kill an innocent. Because nothing can legitimate an execution of minors or of people suffering from mental deficiencies. Because death can never constitute an act of justice".

On the 3rd May 2002, France and 30 other countries signed Protocol number 13 at the European Convention on human rights. This forbids the death penalty in all circumstances, even in times of war. It came into effect in vigour on the 1st July 2003, after 10 failed ratifications.

Despite the above, in 2004, a law proposition (number 1521) was placed before the National Assembly, suggesting re-establishment of the death penalty for the authors of terrorist acts. The proposition was not adopted. Thus on the 3rd January 2006, Jacques Chirac announced a revision of the Constitution aimed to definitively write off the death penalty. (The Constitutional Council, on the 13th October previously, had deemed that the ratification of the second facultative protocol of the international pact concerning civil and political rights, aimed at abolishing the death penalty, necessitated such a revision of the Constitution).

Variations in French Opinion

During the 20th 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 Parisien published a poll in which 77% of people asked were in favor of death penalty.
• In 1960, a survey from the IFOP showed that 50% of 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 Figaro carried out a survey the day after the vote for abolition. It indicated that 62% of French were for maintaining death penalty.
• In 1998, IFOP's and France Soir's survery showed that opinions were split in half, with 54% against death penalty and 44% for it.^[1]

The Institut français dopinion publique (IFOP) is an international marketing firm, whose motto is Global strength in marketing intelligence. Its CEO is Laurence Parisot, who is also the current leader of the MEDEF French employers trade union. ... Le Figaro is one of the leading French morning daily newspapers. ... The Institut français dopinion publique (IFOP) is an international marketing firm, whose motto is Global strenght in marketing intelligence. Its CEO is Laurence Parisot, who is also the current leader of the MEDEF French employers trade union. ... France Soir (France Evening) is a French daily newspaper which was originally founded as the underground paper Défense de la France (Defense of France) in November 1944 by Pierre Lazareff, and renamed France Soir after World War II. France Soir prospered during the 1950s, and became the top-selling...

References

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ...

External links

• http://flatrock.org.nz/topics/prisons/methods_of_capital_punishment.htm
• http://www.willamette.edu/wits/llc/worldnews/xmar03a/artvanfr.html