Quite a symbol. It was Place Vendôme, headquarters of the Ministry of Justice, where Robert Badinter carried out his historic fight for the abolition of the death penalty, that Emmanuel Macron delivered the eulogy to the former Minister of Justice this Wednesday.
The tribute was first made up of a long photo and video retrospective, retracing the moments of his life and allowing the eyes of the hundred people present who came to attend this ceremony open to the public to remember a unique republican journey, under the eyes of his widow, Elisabeth Badinter. Then the President of the Republic delivered his speech for this “giant of the century”. “The Keeper of the Seals always wanted to see a life. Simply. Irreducibly,” declared Emmanuel Macron, paying tribute to “the Republic made man”, and “a soul that cries out, a force that lives and snatches life from the hands of the dead”.
“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. “I vow to be faithful to your teaching and your commitment, and you will be able to listen to our voices cover those of the anti-Semites, the Holocaust deniers, as your voice covered theirs. […] You will be able to listen to hearings, pleadings, readings of judgments, a vibrant chorus of the rule of law, so often called into question the moment you leave,” continued Emmanuel Macron,
Favorable for entry to the Pantheon
At the very end of his tribute, Emmanuel Macron spoke about the possible entry into the Pantheon of the former Minister of Justice. “Your name must be included alongside those who have done so much for human progress and for France and await you in the Pantheon,” insisted the Head of State.
“The principle is established. There will be a pantheonization ceremony,” Emmanuel Macron’s entourage told AFP, stressing that the family had given its agreement on Wednesday morning. “The date and terms 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.
The first secretary of the PS, Olivier Faure, had made the official request. “It’s legitimate” because in the Pantheon it is “the great men who brought great ideas”, for his part estimated Wednesday on franceinfo the president of the Constitutional Council, Laurent Fabius, a position occupied by Robert Badinter from 1986 to 1995.
A tribute against a backdrop of political controversies
Wednesday’s solemn meeting took place against a backdrop of controversy. Elisabeth Badinter had expressed the wish that the elected representatives of the National Rally and La France insoumise would not come to the ceremony. Marine Le Pen agreed to submit to this request, without denying her disagreements with this figure long reviled on the right for having abolished the death penalty. Opposite reaction for LFI which was represented by its deputies Caroline Fiat and Eric Coquerel. “It’s a national tribute, I don’t want to argue,” said the rebellious deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis upon his arrival.
A slayer of extremes like her husband, Elisabeth Badinter has always fought the National Front then the RN, but has also more recently denounced a certain “Islamo-leftism” and pointed out the “enormous” responsibility of LFI in the rise of anti-Semitism in France . Robert Badinter, born into a Jewish family that emigrated from Bessarabia (now Moldova), witnessed his father’s arrest in Lyon during the Second World War. He died during deportation to Poland.