Robert Badinter's entry into the Panthéon on October 9: a national ceremony to be followed on France 2

A lawyer who became Keeper of the Seals, he was the man who put an end to the death penalty in France, after a long judicial and political battle. Robert Badinter, who died on February 9, 2024, will enter the Panthéon on Thursday, October 9, 2025, forty-four years to the day after the law abolishing the death penalty was passed.

The decision had been announced in February 2025 by the President of the Republic during a national tribute to Robert Badinter. " Your name will have to stand alongside those who have done so much for human progress and for France, and are waiting for you," declared Emmanuel Macron. On October 9, 2025, Robert Badinter will enter the Panthéon, joining Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Jean Moulin, Pierre and Marie Curie, Germaine Tillion, Simone Veil, Joséphine Baker and Missak Manouchian.

To mark the occasion, France Télévisions has announced a special program " to bring this national ceremony to life for the public, to pay tribute to Robert Badinter, and to shed light on and recall the destiny, commitments and legacy of this great man, an immense figure of the Republic and an ardent defender of human rights ", according to a press release.

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So, what can we expect? A special program will be broadcast live on France 2 on Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 5:15pm, to follow the pantheonization of Robert Badinter.

The special evening continues throughout the evening, again on France 2, with the first documentary,"Robert Badinter, la vie avant tout" at 9:10pm. Directed by Romain Icard and narrated by Elsa Lepoivre, of the Comédie-Française, this 90-minute film looks back on the life of the former lawyer who became Garde des Sceaux, and in particular on his childhood, which, as he wrote, ended on May 10, 1940, " the day Nazi Germany launched its military offensive against France ".

Then, at 10:50pm, France 2 will broadcast"Badinter contre la peine de mort - le procès Patrick Henry". Directed by Caroline du Saint, the film looks back at the trial of Patrick Henry, which marked the history of the abolition of the death penalty. For the occasion, members of the Comédie Française bring to life the three-day hearing in January 1977.