Constitutional Clemency and the Crisis of Conscience

Abstract

France first abolished capital punishment in 1981, prompted by Minister of Justice Robert Badinter to renounce the famously gruesome guillotine. The emergence of global terrorism and the growth of social tensions at the end of the 20th century fueled the revival of the extreme right in France, where calls for the reinstitution of capital punishment began to proliferate. The death penalty debate became central to the 2002 presidential race and major proponent Jean-Marie Le Pen advanced into the final run-off, reflecting social anxieties and discord among the French. In 2007, in spite of pressures to restore the practice, France cemented the abolition of capital punishment into the Constitution of the Fifth Republic with the passage of Article 66-1. What induced the decision to constitutionally abolish capital punishment in 2007, twenty-six years after the practice was first discontinued and in a moment when many French citizens were expressing a preference for the reintroduction of this penal measure? This thesis investigates the drivers of the constitutional abolition of capital punishment, and, in doing so, identifies factors that propel the passage of contentious policy in France. The study builds on existing literature to explain the unlikely passage of Article 66-1 in a moment of social turbulence and identify the circumstances under which the choice was made. Research was conducted in four phases: government and institutional publications were investigated, the Archives du Sénat were visited and relevant interviews conducted, scholarly articles were analyzed, and media sources were examined to build a comprehensive narrative of the two-stage process of abolition in France. It was found that three sets of factors coincided to promote the practical and symbolic choice to constitutionally abolish the death penalty. (1) Internationally, pressure exerted by the United Nations and the Council of Europe motivated France to intensify its stance on capital punishment and demonstrate its sustained commitment to multilateralism. (2) Domestically, the circumstances of the contentious 2002 presidential race and the reemergence of the far right presented an opportunity for the center right to distinguish itself from its extreme counterpart on the social issue of capital punishment. Additionally, Chirac’s jeopardized legacy spurred him to seek to align himself with socially progressive policies. (3) The personal histories of Minister of Justice Robert Badinter and President Jacques Chirac inspired their efforts to promote abolition in the face of adversity. The findings of this thesis have domestic and international implications. In France, the passage of Article 66-1 contributed to the differentiation of the center right and far right and protected the ban on capital punishment against the far right’s reinstitution attempts in the volatile political climate of today. Internationally, this thesis demonstrates France’s commitment to multilateralism; the potential impact of individual politicians’ personal values and experiences on policy choices; and the continuing impact of Holocaust memory in the contemporary European political arena.