French Parliament Abolishes Death Penalty and Guillotine

The French parliament voted 363 to 117 to abolish the death penalty and end the use of the guillotine, marking the first parliamentary vote on the issue in 70 years. The decision fulfills a campaign promise made by François Mitterrand, who had previously secured a cabinet agreement on the matter in August 1981.

Minister of Justice Robert Badinter proposed the measure as part of a broader series of urgent reforms, which include an anti-unemployment budget and a nationalisation programme. The legislative victory provides an automatic reprieve for six men currently awaiting execution and removes the remaining working guillotines from Fresnes prison.

Despite the vote, opinion polls indicate that more than two-thirds of the French public favored retaining capital punishment. With this action, France becomes the final country in Europe to end the death penalty.