Macron at World Congress: 'Nothing Is a Given' as 68% of French Favour Death Penalty Referendum

Congress opens in Paris

The 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organised by the NGO Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM), began on Tuesday at the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique in Paris. It continues on Wednesday at the same venue before moving on Thursday to the Hôtel de Lassay, the official residence of the President of the National Assembly. Emmanuel Macron addressed thousands of participants at the opening, marking 25 years since France helped inaugurate the first congress in Strasbourg in 2001.

Resurgent debate in France

Macron told the gathering “rien n’est acquis” (nothing is a given), warning that the death penalty has returned to public debate 45 years after France abolished it. Two recent violent crimes, the murder of a child named Lyhanna and the lynching of Louis in Narbonne, have reignited emotion, and the president observed that many people “se remettent à penser que la peine de mort serait une réponse”. A CSA poll published on 14 June found that 68% of French respondents now support a referendum on reintroducing capital punishment for certain crimes. Public figures such as TV presenter Karine Le Marchand have voiced radical positions; she wrote on social media:

“Tu enlèves la vie, on t'enlève la vie.”

No deterrent effect

The president forcefully rejected the security argument, stating:

“La peine de mort n'a jamais rendu une société plus sûre. Jamais. Parce qu'elle ne dissuade pas. C'est faux. Ça a été montré, observé, mesuré.”

He added that capital punishment “n'a jamais eu la valeur dissuasive que certains pouvoirs, souvent autoritaires, qui la défendent, voudraient lui accorder”. Macron insisted the debate must be grounded in evidence rather than perception.

Dignity of the person

Macron framed abolition as a recognition of human dignity. He argued that even those who commit the most serious crimes retain an irreducible humanity:

“Quoi que l'un ou l'une d'entre nous ait pu faire, nous n'avons pas le pouvoir de lui nier cette appartenance à notre humanité.”

While he acknowledged the duty to punish, to repair the harm done to victims and to society, he said democracies must not banish the offender from the human community. “On le réduit, on le sanctionne, on le punit. On le soigne parfois,” he noted.

Global landscape

Macron expressed alarm over rising execution numbers in retentionist countries and cited anti-abolitionist moves in Israel and the Sahel region. Despite these risks, he argued that the death penalty is one of the few human rights steadily advancing and that universal abolition remains “un horizon accessible”. He urged vigilance, warning that democratic societies cannot take abolition for granted.