Macron: When France takes over the presidency of the European Union, it will push for the abolition of the death penalty globally

France, which will assume the presidency of the European Union, will launch a global campaign to abolish the death penalty.

Reuters reported on the 9th: Macron said that he will promote the global abolition of the death penalty during his presidency of the European Union

According to Reuters reported on the 9th, French President Macron said in a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France on the same day that France will assume the presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2022, when France will cooperate with other member states to promote a UNITED Nations resolution requiring countries to report the number of death sentences and executions every year. In addition, France will hold a conference in the capital, Paris, to bring together civil society groups from countries that use or moratorium the death penalty in order to convince people in those countries of the "importance and urgency" of abolishing the death penalty.

Macron recalled that France is the "35th country in the world to abolish the death penalty" and that "so far, 106 countries have abolished the death penalty, and another 50 countries have suspended the death penalty de jure or de facto." He also accused the death penalty of being "abhorrent," a "state-level execution" and a manifestation of a "denial of human rights."

Robert Badinter, the attorney general of former French President Francois Mitterrand, also spoke at the ceremony, echoing and supporting Macron's views. Mitterrand led the French parliament in 1981 to pass a bill abolishing the death penalty.

At present, many countries, including China, the United States, India, and Japan, are using the death penalty. But even in Abolitionist France, there are still serious divisions on the issue of the death penalty.

In 2015, when France was hit by frequent terrorist attacks, there was a growing call for the execution of perpetrators. Jean Marie Le Pen, the former leader of France's far-right National Front, has also been a champion of reinstating the death penalty, while Eric Zemmour, a French right-wing commentator who will run in next year's presidential election, has also made it clear that he supports the death penalty in principle.

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