On September 17, 1981, Robert Badinter, then Minister of Justice, called on deputies to vote for the abolition of the death penalty in France. “Tomorrow, thanks to you, French justice will no longer be a justice that kills”, he said.
The law was adopted in the National Assembly the day after Badinter spoke, on September 18, 1981. It was promulgated on October 9 of the same year. In 2007, it was even included in the Constitution. However, those sentenced to death are becoming increasingly rare in the country.