President Emmanuel Macron greeted Robert Badinter on Friday February 9, who died at the age of 95, "the man for the abolition of the death penalty" and "a figure of the century, a republican conscience, the French spirit", announcing that “a national tribute will be paid to him”. The disappearance of this defender of the abolition of the death penalty sparked reactions across the entire political spectrum.
"Lawyer, Minister of Justice, man for the abolition of the death penalty. Robert Badinter never stopped pleading for the Enlightenment", underlined the Head of State on X a few minutes after the announcement of the death of the Former President of the Constitutional Council.
Lawyer, Minister of Justice, man for the abolition of the death penalty. Robert Badinter never stopped pleading for the Enlightenment. He was a figure of the century, a republican conscience, the French spirit. pic.twitter.com/3IJ9jekLSd
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 9, 2024
Also read: Robert Badinter, the father of the abolition of the death penalty, has died
“One righteous among the righteous”
Laurent Fabius, who holds this position today and who was a member of Pierre Mauroy's government at the same time as the emblematic Minister of Justice, paid tribute in a message to AFP to "a righteous man among the righteous" , who "in all the functions he has exercised, in all the causes he has pleaded, has advanced law and humanism on a national and international level".
“He will have devoted every second of his life to fighting for what was just, to fighting for fundamental freedoms. The abolition of the death penalty will forever be his legacy for France,” reacted the Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, also on X.
All his life, he made the voice of Justice thunder.
Man of law and values.
Lawyer, minister, statesman, Robert Badinter has left us.
From the courtrooms to the stands of the National Assembly and the Senate, and to the Constitutional Council, he will have devoted… pic.twitter.com/cRvchgdqZH
— Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) February 9, 2024
“Robert Badinter was the defender of just causes, humanism incarnate, the voice of wisdom in a disrupted world,” underlined in turn the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet (Renaissance).
MoDem leader François Bayrou hailed AFP as “a landmark and a reference”. “He was a distinguished, cultivated spirit, having the courage of his indignations. For several generations, he will have been an inspiration,” underlined the centrist.
For the current Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, Robert Badinter was a "huge lawyer, visionary and courageous Minister of Justice (he) embodied our Republic and its values."
An immense lawyer, visionary and courageous Minister of Justice, Robert Badinter embodied our Republic and its values.
Deeply in love with justice, architect of abolition, man of law and passion, he leaves a void worthy of his legacy: immeasurable.
— Eric Dupond-Moretti (@E_DupondM) February 9, 2024
“He embodied the very idea of justice”
On franceinfo, former socialist president François Hollande paid tribute to Robert Badinter's "message" "not of indulgence, but of human dignity" with the abolition of the death penalty. “It was to make people understand that it was law which must prevail over force each time, it was a message that came from far away. His family had experienced the pogroms in eastern Europe, had was welcomed in France, he himself had hidden in Chambéry during the period of the Occupation", detailed François Hollande.
Assuring that François Mitterrand's former Minister of Justice had been "the cause of his commitment", the first secretary of the PS, Olivier Faure, saw in Robert Badinter "more than the abolitionist who put an end to the death penalty" because “he embodied the very idea of justice”.
Robert Badinter was more than the abolitionist who ended the death penalty. He embodied the very idea of justice. His moral righteousness and his determination gave all its strength to the humanist ideal. He was the cause of my commitment. Immense sadness. https://t.co/SE5mBS13Ht
— Olivier Faure (@faureolivier) February 9, 2024
Her counterpart among the Ecologists, Marine Tondelier, insisted on the death of a “great thinker of freedoms” and a “convinced European”, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI), who had rubbed shoulders with Robert Badinter in the Senate, welcomed an “unparalleled strength of conviction” and a “simply luminous” man. “He was a speaker who brought his words to life like poetry,” he reacted on X.
While sitting alongside him in the Senate, I admired Robert Badinter so much! He was a speaker who brought his words to life like poetry. He reasoned while speaking and his strength of conviction was unparalleled. No matter the disagreements. I have never encountered another being...
— Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) February 9, 2024
The sober tributes of the rights
Right-wing and far-right political leaders wanted to be sober in their comments on Friday after the death of Robert Badinter, while the question of the death penalty remains significant in French society.
“Former Minister of Justice, man of letters, Robert Badinter defended his ideals throughout his life, with constancy and eloquence,” simply described the president of the RN, Jordan Bardella, born in 1995.
Former Minister of Justice, man of letters, Robert Badinter defended his ideals throughout his life, with constancy and eloquence.
My condolences to his wife Élisabeth and their three children.
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) February 9, 2024
Marine Le Pen, for her part, paid tribute to "a notable figure in the intellectual and legal landscape", recalling that "we could not share all the struggles" of the former Minister of Justice.
We might not share all of Robert Badinter's struggles, but this man of convictions was undoubtedly a significant figure in the intellectual and legal landscape. I send my condolences to his wife and family.
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) February 9, 2024
Because Robert Badinter was for a long time a hated figure of the French extreme right, who saw in his claimed humanism a "laxity" and his fight against the guillotine a failure of the repressive system.
In June 1983, when hundreds of police demonstrated under the windows of his office shouting “Badinter assassin!”, Jean-Marie Le Pen, president of the National Front, was there.
More than forty years after the abolition of capital punishment, the question remains acute: 81% of National Rally supporters are in favor of its reestablishment, as are 51% of LR supporters - a figure comparable to the overall population -, according to the Ipsos French Fractures study published last October.
Far from the lyricism of the tributes paid to the left and the center, the right wanted to be respectful, but factual.
The head of the Republicans, Eric Ciotti, soberly saluted an “emblematic figure of justice”, recognizing that “his fight for the abolition of the death penalty will remain engraved in our memories and our institutions”; a “courageous fight”, supported Valérie Pécresse, president of the Ile-de-France region.
Deep sadness at the announcement of the death of Robert Badinter, emblematic figure of justice and tireless defender of human rights.
His fight for the abolition of the death penalty will remain engraved in our memories and our institutions.
My thoughts are with his family. pic.twitter.com/KvAOYHKgNt
— Eric Ciotti (@ECiotti) February 9, 2024
The boss of the LR senators, Bruno Retailleau, praised “a talent, a culture and an intelligence put entirely at the service of unshakeable convictions”.
“Let us recognize, beyond our political differences,” added Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, president of Debout la France, “the strength and constancy of his commitment.”
With AFP
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