France
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · France has been abolitionist since 1981
- News items in the archive
- 161
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
France is classified as Abolitionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 161 news items on France, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- APRIL 25, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
France was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution...
France was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution 2002/77 on the death penalty at the 58th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 21, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
France is in a state of shock and anger after the election...
France is in a state of shock and anger after the election success of the extreme Right under Jean-Marie Le Pen
- APRIL 16, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
The French ambassador to Uganda, Jean-Bernard Thiant,...
The French ambassador to Uganda, Jean-Bernard Thiant, said the French government wants Uganda to abolish the death penalty
- MARCH 28, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
U.S. prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty...
U.S. prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui, accusing the French citizen of actions that resulted in some 3,000 deaths from the Sept
- MARCH 28, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
U.S. prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty...
U.S. prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui, accusing the French citizen of actions that resulted in some 3,000 deaths from the Sept
- MARCH 19, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
US prosecutors will seek the death penalty for jailed...
US prosecutors will seek the death penalty for jailed Frenchman Zacarias Moussaoui, the indicted "20th hijacker" in the September 11 attacks, The New York Times disclosed
- MARCH 19, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
Paris has warned Washington it could review its cooperation...
Paris has warned Washington it could review its cooperation with the September 11 probe if the United States sought the death penalty against a French national charged with aiding the people behind the attacks, French rights groups said
- FEBRUARY 27, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
Pierre Brana, the member of French Parliament and EU...
Pierre Brana, the member of French Parliament and EU Commission, who leaded the French delegation during a visit in Turkey said that lifting of capital punishment was a "sine qua non" condition for Turkey's EU membership
- FEBRUARY 16, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
Some six thousand Kurds from France and Germany took...
Some six thousand Kurds from France and Germany took to the streets of Strasbourg, home of the European Court of Human Rights, to demand the release of jailed Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan
- FEBRUARY 16, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
Some six thousand Kurds from France and Germany took...
Some six thousand Kurds from France and Germany took to the streets of Strasbourg, home of the European Court of Human Rights, to demand the release of jailed Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan
- JANUARY 1, 2002FranceDEATH PENALTY
France has been abolitionist since 1981
France has been abolitionist since 1981
- DECEMBER 14, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
France demanded that the US spare the life of one of...
France demanded that the US spare the life of one of its citizens indicted on charges which could lead to his execution in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks
- DECEMBER 12, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, defence attorney for Moroccan-born...
Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, defence attorney for Moroccan-born French citizen Zacarias Moussaoui, the first suspect indicted in the United States for the September 11 terrorist attacks, will solicit the repatriation of the French national
- DECEMBER 12, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, defence attorney for Moroccan-born...
Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, defence attorney for Moroccan-born French citizen Zacarias Moussaoui, the first suspect indicted in the United States for the September 11 terrorist attacks, will solicit the repatriation of the French national
- DECEMBER 6, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
The Paris city council named U
The Paris city council named U
- OCTOBER 29, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
A 44-year-old father of three armed with a shotgun...
A 44-year-old father of three armed with a shotgun went on a shooting spree in downtown Tours, killing four people and wounding at least 12 others, police said
- OCTOBER 29, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
French Foreign Ministry said that Michel Peyrard, Paris...
French Foreign Ministry said that Michel Peyrard, Paris Match reporter who has been detained by Taliban since October 9 on charges of espionage, should be freed as soon as possible
- OCTOBER 27, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban said that the investigation...
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban said that the investigation against detained French journalist Michel Peyrard was nearly over and that the findings would be presented in court soon
- OCTOBER 26, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
A US anti-abortion activist wanted for the 1998 killing...
A US anti-abortion activist wanted for the 1998 killing of a gynaecologist lost his last judicial appeal against an order for his extradition
- OCTOBER 26, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
A US anti-abortion activist wanted for the 1998 killing...
A US anti-abortion activist wanted for the 1998 killing of a gynaecologist lost his last judicial appeal against an order for his extradition
- OCTOBER 18, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Michel Peyrard, the Paris Match journalist arrested...
Michel Peyrard, the Paris Match journalist arrested by the Taleban has spoken from captivity for the first time, saying he knew the risk before he slipped into Afghanistan
- OCTOBER 11, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia charged a French...
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia charged a French journalist and two Pakistani colleagues with spying, a crime that carries the death penalty
- OCTOBER 11, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
President Jacques Chirac came to the defence of a French...
President Jacques Chirac came to the defence of a French reporter held by the Taliban and accused of spying after entering Afghanistan disguised as a woman
- OCTOBER 10, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
The French journalist who was captured disguised in...
The French journalist who was captured disguised in a burka after entering Afghanistan was pelted with stones as the Taleban paraded him through the streets of Jalalabad
- OCTOBER 9, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Michel Peyrard, who works for the French news magazine...
Michel Peyrard, who works for the French news magazine Paris Match, and two Pakistani guides identified as Mohammed Irfan and Mukkaram Khan were arrested in the east of the country wearing a full-length women's veil, or burqa
- OCTOBER 5, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
A Paris-based human rights group said that most of...
A Paris-based human rights group said that most of those on death row in the United States had not received a fair trial and called on US Supreme Court judges to declare the death penalty unconstitutional
- JULY 20, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Ira Einhorn, the ex-hippie guru at the centre of a...
Ira Einhorn, the ex-hippie guru at the centre of a controversial extradition case between France and the United States arrived back in the US to face trial for the murder of his former girlfriend
- JUNE 28, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
The court in Rennes ruled that James Kopp, 46, an American...
The court in Rennes ruled that James Kopp, 46, an American fugitive wanted in New York for the murder of Barnett Slepian, an abortion doctor, there in 1998, can be extradited to the United States as long as he would not face the death penalty if convicted
- JUNE 23, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Former death row inmates, human rights activists and...
Former death row inmates, human rights activists and legislators joined thousands of marchers in silence to protest against capital punishment
- JUNE 22, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Speakers of parliaments from four continents called...
Speakers of parliaments from four continents called for a global ban on capital punishment at the first world congress against the death penalty