France: national tribute to Robert Badinter against a backdrop of political controversy
French President Emmanuel Macron chairs a national tribute at 12 p.m. on Wednesday to Robert Badinter, a “wise man” who brought about the abolition of the death penalty as Minister of Justice. The head of state promised to speak on a possible entry of the lawyer, who died in the night from Thursday to Friday at the age of 95, at the Pantheon.
Former French Minister of Justice Robert Badinter, author of the abolitionist law in France, flanked by French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France, at Pantheon in Paris, France, October 9, 2021. via REUTERS - POOL
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Will the former minister of François Miterrand,
gravedigger of the scaffold in France
, rest in the crypt of the Pantheon, this republican temple which proclaims on its pediment “To great men, the grateful homeland” (although several women there are also)? Robert Badinter was indeed “
a great man
”, a “
wise man
”, a “
republican conscience
”, the president agreed on Friday. But, “
these things take time
”, underlined Emmanuel Macron who has already “pantheonized” Simone Veil, Maurice Genevoix, Joséphine Baker and Missak Manoukian. The sole decision-maker on the matter, the Head of State promised to say more this Wednesday noon.
The presidency, in consultation with the family, chose a symbolic location to pay tribute to the memory of Robert Badinter during a ceremony open to the public: Place Vendôme, in front of the Ministry of Justice. It was there that Robert Badinter introduced the law of October 9, 1981 abolishing the death penalty, in a France then predominantly in favor of the supreme punishment. He subsequently worked for the universal abolition of capital punishment, a fight that Emmanuel Macron today says he wants to perpetuate, by hosting the next world congress of this cause in 2026 in France.
Tributes
have poured in since his death on February 9, with a unanimity that was at least found around the man of “
conviction
” and “
fights
” that he embodied. A democratic heritage that must be protected more than ever, believes Frédéric Wizmane, lawyer at the Paris bar: “
When rights are acquired, we tend to think that they are as obvious as the air we breathe, but it is We must always be aware as a citizen, as a litigant, of the fact that the battles that were fought in the past must always require vigor to maintain what was acquired with difficulty. They are fragile treasures. It's necessary to be vigilant.
»
LFI and RN asked not to come
The political class also celebrated it on Tuesday February 13 with a minute of silence in the Senate - where the deceased sat - then in the National Assembly. “
Robert Badinter was a statesman with an exceptional career who left his mark not only on our assembly, but on our entire history
,” underlined the president of the upper house of Parliament Gérard Larcher, very moved when paying tribute to the one who “
will remain
”, according to him, a “
tireless fighter for freedom
”, a “
man of unfailing commitment
”.
But Wednesday's solemn meeting will take place against a backdrop of controversy. The philosopher Élisabeth Badinter, his widow, has in fact expressed the wish that elected officials from the far-right National Rally (RN) and radical left La France Insoumise (LFI) parties do not come to the ceremony. “
We will not be present, the family did not wish it. I am not going to argue
,” immediately responded Marine Le Pen, who, like other far-right leaders, had stuck to the minimum service to salute this figure long reviled for having abolished the death penalty.
Reverse reaction for LFI. “
A national tribute is a national tribute. We are invited there, and we will be represented there
,” affirmed the parliamentary group which will send two deputies, Éric Coquerel and Caroline Fiat. The radical left party and its leader
Jean-Luc Mélenchon were full of praise
this week for Robert Badinter.
A slayer of extremes like her husband, Élisabeth Badinter has always fought the extreme right but has also more recently denounced a certain “
Islamo-leftism
” and pointed out the “
enormous
” responsibility of LFI in the rise of anti-Semitism in France.
But rebellious France does not see it that way. The party will be represented by two people [...]
01:15
Extremes of all sides invited to leave
Also read Death of Robert Badinter: “He was interested in the condemned but he also advanced the rights of victims”
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