Background
 The question of capital punishment in member states
Capital punishment was legal in France from the middle ages until 1981
1791 - under the "Ancien Régime", there existed a variety of means of capital
punishment in 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.
1791- The National Assembly banned torture and made it illegal to carry out executions
in France any other way than to cut their head off.
25 April 1792- The guillotine was first used on Nicolas Jacques Pelletier
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.
on 17 June 1939 -The last public execution was Eugen Weidmann, who murdered six
victims, outside the St-Pierre prison
19 July 1939- The first to be guillotined inside a prison was Jean Dehaene, who had
murdered his estranged wife and father-in-law, executed 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.
1977- The last person to be punished with the death penalty was Hamida Djandoubi
1981- The death penalty is made illegal. It is now also forbidden by the French
constitution, and by several human rights treaties to which France is a party.
How it affects France
It affects France, as it is the French people’s lives on the line if they do something wrong. I think that
people don’t won’t that kind of threat hanging over their head.
Sides to the debate
Positive –
Capital punishment is a positive method of punishment, as with the threat of death there will be
less crime in France. It will also help show that France is not just going to roll over on it’s belly,
but will instead fight for the safety of our great country.
NegativeCapital punishment is a negative form of punishment as it is barbaric. Also, capital punishment
does not follow the rules of ‘an eye for an eye’, as people who steal are not held in prison and
fined but instead can be killed.
How has the Country dealt with the problem?
30 May 1791- The first fight against the death penalty. The National Assembly neglected
this pledge on the 6th October 1791. They did ban torture and the only way to carry out
the death sentence was by cutting off peoples head.
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.
Citations
http://ambafrance-us.org/IMG/pdf/Death_penalty.pdf
"La France A Loupe." The Death Penalty In France. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 July 2007. <ambafranceus.org/IMG/pdf/Death_penalty.pdf>.

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france-priorities_1/human-rights_1101/deathpenalty_5878/france-and-death-penalty_7225/index.html
"La France A Loupe." The Death Penalty In France. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 July 2007. <ambafranceus.org/IMG/pdf/Death_penalty.pdf>.

http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/guillotine.html
Schmidt, one Tobias, a German engineer, and was ready for testing using recently. "History of the
Guillotine." Capital Punishment U. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/guillotine.html>.

http://www.enotes.com/topic/Capital_punishment_in_France
Schmidt, one Tobias, a German engineer, and was ready for testing using recently. "History of the
Guillotine." Capital Punishment U. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/guillotine.html>.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_France
Schmidt, one Tobias, a German engineer, and was ready for testing using recently. "History of the
Guillotine." Capital Punishment U. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/guillotine.html>.
http://www.helsinki.fi/~tuschano/cp/
"History of Capital Punishment." Helsinki.fi - Helsingin seudun tapahtumat, uutiset ja hakupalvelut
yhdestä osoitteesta. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. <http://www.helsinki.fi/~tuschano/cp/>.