The coffin of Robert Badinter, devoid of the remains of the former Minister of Justice, entered the Pantheon this Thursday, October 9, anniversary of the law that abolished the death penalty. A ceremony that lasted more than an hour and was attended by several political figures, including Emmanuel Macron and Sébastien Lecornu, as well as his widow Élisabeth Badinter.
A year and a half after his death, Robert Badinter is the seventh personality to enter the Pantheon, since Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017, after the Manouchian couple, Joséphine Baker, Maurice Genevoix and the Veil couple.
• Emmanuel Macron greets his resigning Prime Minister
The French president, on whom all eyes are focused in the midst of a political crisis, arrived accompanied by his wife Brigitte Macron.
The Head of State greeted Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu in the Place du Pantheon. The two men spoke briefly.
• Guillaume Gallienne reads a text by Victor Hugo
The first speech at this ceremony was that of the actor and screenwriter Guillaume Gallienne. The latter read a speech by Victor Hugo from 1848 on the death penalty.
“What is the death penalty? The special and eternal sign of barbarism. Wherever the death penalty is applied, barbarism dominates,” the actor read.
“Perhaps you will not abolish it today, but do not doubt that you will abolish it. Or your successors will abolish it tomorrow,” continued Guillaume Gallienne.
• A speech by Robert Badinter performed by Sandrine Bonnaire
Actress Sandrine Bonnaire read Robert Badinter’s statement during the trial of Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson. The former Minister of Justice described the latter as a “falsifier of history.” Robert Faurisson then attacked Robert Badinter for defamation, but it was dismissed by the courts. Sandrine Bonnaire’s speech was applauded by the crowd gathered on Soufflot Street.
It was then the actor and director Éric Ruf who read an extract from “The Execution” by Robert Badinter, a book published in 1973. The work is dedicated to the trial of Claude Buffet and Robert Bontems, both guillotined. A manifesto from the former Minister of Justice about his fight for the abolition of the death penalty, which will occur just under 10 years later.
• The work of Robert Badinter remembered by the actor Philippe Torreton
Robert Badinter’s coffin ascended the street that leads to the Pantheon, an opportunity to remember the different stages of the life of the former Minister of Justice through a story performed by actor Philippe Torreton. The latter recalled the commitments of Robert Badinter in the government of François Mitterrand.
His fight for the abolition of the death penalty obviously, but also for the end of exceptional jurisdictions, the suppression of the crime of homosexuality or even the inclusion of France in the European Convention on Human Rights.
• Julien Clerc plays the murdered murderer
On the steps of the Pantheon, singer Julien Clerc performed “The Murdered Murderer,” a song about the death penalty, published in 1980. “Shield your death from view. And then, it happens very quickly. When they decapitate you,” the artist sang. Several lawyers also spoke in front of the Parisian monument.
“In our turn, we take the baton to defend what you have embodied,” proclaimed Thibault Bailly, lawyer and first secretary of the Bar Association.
• The entrance of the coffin to the Pantheon
After traveling down Soufflot Street, Robert Badinter’s coffin entered the Pantheon to the applause of the crowd. At the same time, the opera singer Catherine Trottman performed “Lascia ch’io pianga”, by Georg Friedrich Handel.
• Emmanuel Macron salutes his “strong voice”
“The dead here also listen to us.” This is how Emmanuel Macron began his speech, saluting the “singular and strong voice” of Robert Badinter, “bearer of the ideals of France and the Republic.”
“Robert Badinter enters the Pantheon with the lights and spirit of 1789 […] with the principles of the rule of law, a certain idea of man inseparable from the republican ideal,” he declared.
The Head of State spoke of his “battles dating back centuries,” citing “the universal abolition of the death penalty, the fight against anti-Semitic poison and the fight to defend the rule of law.” Emmanuel Macron promised to continue “taking” his fight against the death penalty “until its universal abolition.”
The president focused on Robert Badinter’s fight against anti-Semitism, while “again hatred of Jews kills.” A reference to the increase in the number of anti-Semitic acts in France since the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel.
• A “mapping” on the façade of the Pantheon about the main stages of his life
At the end of Emmanuel Macron’s speech, a “mapping” was projected on the façade of the Pantheon that traces the life of Robert Badinter. His grandmother’s place in his education, his father’s capture by the Gestapo in Lyon, his career as a lawyer and then his appointment to the Ministry of Justice were evoked through the voice of actress Elissa Alloula.
“Life is stronger than death,” words from Robert Badinter concluded the tribute to the former Minister of Justice.
The historian and resistance fighter. Marc Bloch He will be the next personality to enter the Pantheon next June, 82 years after his execution by the Gestapo in 1944.
Source: BFM TV
