The name of Robert Badinter “must be inscribed” in the Pantheon, announced Wednesday February 14, Emmanuel Macron during the tribute to the former socialist Minister of Justice who brought about the abolition of the death penalty in France, in nineteen eighty one.
It is in a symbolic and unprecedented place, in front of the Ministry of Justice, that France paid tribute to the memory of Robert Badinter, who died last week at the age of 95. It was there that the president’s minister François Mitterrand wrote the law abolishing the supreme punishment, going against public opinion at the time.
“Your name must be inscribed alongside those who have done so much for human progress and for France and await you at the Pantheon,” declared the president at the conclusion of his tribute. “You are leaving us at a time when your old adversaries, forgetfulness and hatred, seem to be advancing again,” added the President of the Republic, making “an oath to be faithful to your teaching.”
” Great men the grateful country “
The entry of his coffin into the square, from the ministry, was applauded by several hundred people who came to attend this ceremony open to the public, despite the light rain; just like the retransmission of his historic words demanding, from the platform of the National Assembly on September 17, 1981, “the abolition of the death penalty in France”.
“The principle is established. There will be a pantheonization ceremony,” Emmanuel Macron’s entourage told Agence France-Presse, specifying that the family had given its agreement on Wednesday morning. “The date and arrangements are to be discussed with the family. » Pantheonization can take the form of a simple plaque in the name of the deceased, a cenotaph – a funerary monument which does not contain a body – or a burial.
As early as Friday, as soon as the news of his death became known, the president had left open the possibility of the lawyer’s entry into this republican temple which proclaims on its pediment “To great men, the grateful homeland”.
“It’s legitimate” because at the Pantheon homage is paid to “great men who brought great ideas,” said Wednesday on Franceinfo the president of the Constitutional Council, Laurent Fabius, a position held by Robert Badinter from 1986 to 1995.
