This article explains why the guillotine was still used in France until the 1970s, despite being considered by many to be a “barbaric” and “outdated” method of execution. The content is for educational and historical documentation only, based on historical sources, legal records, and political analysis. It does not aim to glorify violence or advocate for any political ideology.
Why Were People Still Executed by Guillotine in the 1970s?
When most people think of the guillotine, they associate it with the French Revolution (1789-1799) – the Reign of Terror, King Louis XVI, the “National Razor.” But a little-known historical fact is that the guillotine remained France’s only legal method of execution until the death penalty was completely abolished in 1981.
The last execution by guillotine in France took place on September 10, 1977, when Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant convicted of torturing and murdering his former girlfriend, was beheaded at Baumettes Prison in Marseille . Thus, nearly 190 years after the guillotine was first used (in 1792), it was still operating. Why did an execution method associated with the pre-industrial era last so long? The answer lies in a combination of legal tradition, public indifference, and failed efforts to reform France’s criminal justice system.
1. The Birth of the Guillotine: An “Egalitarian and Humane” Tool
To understand why the guillotine lasted so long, we first need to understand how it was born. Before the French Revolution, capital punishment in France was brutal and class-based:
Nobles: Were beheaded by sword or axe – a quick and “honorable” death.
Commoners: Were hanged, burned alive, or broken on the wheel – prolonged, painful, and shameful deaths.
In 1789, physician and reformer Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed a new execution method: a mechanical machine that could behead anyone, regardless of social status, quickly and “humanely.” Guillotin emphasized that the guillotine would kill the victim instantly, without prolonged suffering.
The guillotine was first used in 1792, and during the French Revolution, it executed tens of thousands of people, including King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. Although associated with terror, the guillotine was still considered “progressive” compared to previous methods.
2. From Revolution to Empire to Republic: The Stability of a Tradition
After Napoleon Bonaparte came to power, the guillotine was retained. The Napoleonic Penal Code (Code pénal de 1810) formalized the guillotine as France’s standard execution method. Through different political regimes – the Bourbon Restoration, the Second Republic, the Second Empire, the Third Republic – the guillotine survived. It had become part of the French justice system, accepted as a matter of fact.
During the 19th century, public guillotine executions drew large crowds. They were social events, although many criticized them as barbaric. The final public execution in 1939 (Eugen Weidmann), when the crowd jostled and used handkerchiefs to dab up the condemned man’s blood as souvenirs, forced the government to ban public executions .
3. Why Wasn’t It Abolished Sooner? Three Main Obstacles
There are three main reasons why the guillotine persisted in France until the 1970s, even though many other European countries had long abolished the death penalty (e.g., Britain fully abolished in 1965, West Germany in 1949).
A. Public and Political Indifference
After World War II, capital punishment was not a major political issue in France. Opinion polls showed that the majority of French people still supported the death penalty for murderers. Politicians, especially those on the right and center-right, did not want to lose votes by supporting abolition. Even presidents considered reform-minded, like Charles de Gaulle, were unwilling to touch this sensitive issue.
B. The Shift from Public to Private Executions
After the Weidmann execution in 1939, executions were carried out behind closed prison gates. The public no longer witnessed the guillotine’s spectacle. The “nightmare” had disappeared from everyday sight. This shift reduced public pressure for abolition. People could easily ignore something if they didn’t have to see it. Executions became “clean” and “invisible,” taking place at dawn in prison courtyards, witnessed only by a handful of officials.
C. Failed Reform Efforts Under President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing
In 1974, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, a reform-minded liberal, was elected President of France. Giscard personally opposed the death penalty. He tried to pardon many death row inmates, including those convicted of serious crimes. However, he could not convince a majority in Parliament to vote for abolition. In 1975, he introduced a death penalty reform bill, but it was blocked by conservatives.
Giscard was also the only president to witness an execution during his term. The execution of Hamida Djandoubi in 1977 was highly controversial, partly because Djandoubi was an immigrant and his crime was particularly brutal (torturing and murdering his former girlfriend). Giscard refused to pardon Djandoubi, a decision he later expressed regret for.
4. The Final Execution: Hamida Djandoubi, September 10, 1977
Hamida Djandoubi was a Tunisian immigrant worker, 28 years old. He was convicted of torturing and murdering his 21-year-old former girlfriend, Elisabeth Bousquet. After a lengthy trial, Djandoubi was sentenced to death.
At 4:40 a.m. on September 10, 1977, the guillotine was erected in the courtyard of Baumettes Prison in Marseille. The executioner was Marcel Chevalier, who had held the position of France’s official executioner since 1976. Djandoubi was led out, and the blade fell. He died instantly.
That was the last time the guillotine was used in France. No one knew it at the time, but an era had ended.
5. Abolition of the Death Penalty: 1981, Under François Mitterrand
In 1981, François Mitterrand, a socialist and lifelong opponent of the death penalty, was elected President of France. Immediately after taking office, he pushed for a bill to abolish the death penalty. On September 18, 1981, the French Parliament voted overwhelmingly to abolish the death penalty.
Since then, France has executed no one. The guillotine has been placed in museums, becoming a historical relic.
6. Why Not a More “Modern” Method?
Another reasonable question: if France still wanted to keep the death penalty, why didn’t they switch to a more “modern” method like lethal injection or the electric chair, as in the United States?
The answer is tradition and cost. The guillotine had been used for nearly 200 years. Executioners were well-trained. The machine was relatively cheap to maintain. Lethal injection required medical knowledge, and the electric chair required complex infrastructure. The French had a machine that worked well – at least by their technical standards – and they saw no reason to change.
7. Conclusion: The Legacy of the Blade
The guillotine died in France along with the death penalty in 1981, but it had an astonishing life: 189 years of operation (1792-1977). It witnessed kings, queens, revolutionaries, madmen, traitors, and petty criminals. It was a symbol of both justice and terror, of equality and brutality.
Its survival into the 1970s is a reminder that social change is often much slower than we expect. A machine from the French Revolution was still operating when humans had already landed on the moon (in 1969). And it was not stopped by public outrage, but by the political decision of a newly elected president.
Primary Sources:
Wikipedia – Guillotine / Hamida Djandoubi / Capital punishment in France
Archives Nationales de France – Records of the final executions
Contemporary newspaper reports – Le Monde, Libération (1975-1977)
Historical studies of capital punishment in 20th-century France
Memoirs of Marcel Chevalier, France’s last executioner