A few hours before the pantheonization of Robert Badinter, the tomb of Robert Badinter was desecrated and vandalized at the Parisian cemetery of Bagneux on Thursday, October 9, 2025. The attack targeted his fights against the death penalty and for the decriminalization of homosexuality. It immediately led to official condemnations. Emmanuel Macron maintains the tribute at the Panthéon, where the Nation intends to respond, through law and ritual, to the desecration.
The facts at the Bagneux cemetery, without unnecessary emphasis
The tomb of Robert Badinter was the victim of grave vandalism a few hours before the ceremony, on October 9, 2025, at the Parisian cemetery of Bagneux (Hauts-de-Seine). Graffiti on Robert Badinter’s tomb targeted the memory of the former Minister of Justice and one of his most well-known legacies: the abolition of the death penalty. According to initial confirmations from the town hall and the prosecutor’s office, an investigation for desecration of a grave has begun. It was formally opened by the prosecutor’s office. The national ceremony of tribute at the Panthéon was maintained that evening, in Paris 5th, as planned.
In a message published on social media, Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack: "Shame on those who wanted to defile his memory… The Republic is always stronger than hate." The deliberately sober phrase sets the tone for the day: not to yield to provocation, and to oppose the degradation with the calm strength of the law and the republican rite.
The legal framework: the law protects our deceased
The desecration of a grave is a crime. The Penal Code (art. 225-17) provides for one year of imprisonment and a €15,000 fine for "the violation or desecration, by any means, of tombs, graves, cinerary urns, or monuments erected in memory of the dead." In case of harm to the corpse, the penalty reaches two years of imprisonment and a €30,000 fine. The reminder of the text serves as a warning: the investigation is ongoing, the presumption of innocence prevails, and any prosecutions, if applicable, will be up to the magistrates.
To read: Article 225-17 of the Penal Code.
Pantheonization: chronology of a tense day
October 9, 2025, a few hours before the ceremony. The degradation is reported by the Bagneux town hall. The tombstone is tagged with hostile mentions targeting Robert Badinter’s fights, notably the abolition of the death penalty and the decriminalization of homosexuality. The precise qualifications, the exact wording of the inscriptions, and their interpretation remain to be documented: several media report variations. Caution, therefore.
October 9, 2025, afternoon. Political reactions follow one another. Marie-Hélène Amiable, PCF mayor of Bagneux, denounces a "cowardly act." In Paris, Anne Hidalgo announces a report to the prosecutor’s office. Other political leaders also condemn the desecration. At the Élysée Palace, the President’s entourage confirms that Robert Badinter’s pantheonization at the Panthéon is maintained.
October 9, 2025, 5:30 PM (CEST). Public reception on Soufflot Street, at the foot of the Panthéon. The organization is handled by the Centre des monuments nationaux. The ceremony begins at 6:30 PM, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, and includes the customs of a solemn national tribute: entry of the flag, music, texts, and a cenotaph dedicated to Robert Badinter (the body remains buried in Bagneux).
Official practical information: Solemn tribute at the Panthéon.
Robert Badinter for the younger generations
Robert Badinter (1928-2024), lawyer, law professor, Minister of Justice from 1981 to 1986, then President of the Constitutional Council (1986-1995), leaves a humanist and republican legacy. He presented, on behalf of the government of François Mitterrand, the law of October 9, 1981. This law abolished the death penalty in France. He supported the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1982, advocating for the reintegration and dignity of prisoners. Moreover, he promoted a justice system more protective of freedoms.
A man of words and law, he marked the National Assembly with his abolitionist plea in September 1981. Furthermore, this speech has become a reference text of civic culture. At the Constitutional Council, he presided over major decisions for the rule of law. Until an advanced age, he continued an activity of writing and debate, faithful to an ethic of moderation and firmness.
A symbol targeted, a Republic united
The desecration targets more than a stone: it attempts to reach a symbol. The attack strikes at what Robert Badinter embodies in the republican imagination: the primacy of law over violence, the evolution of morals through law, the protection of minorities by common standards. By responding with tribute, the Republic reiterates the contract that underpins it: liberty, equality, fraternity, guaranteed by the institutions.
The day of October 9 thus adopts a unique coherence. Forty-four years to the day after the abolition of the death penalty (1981), the Nation inscribes in the Panthéon the name of the one who led this fight. The cenotaph – a deliberate choice not to move the remains – combines memory and discretion. It will testify through selected objects (robe, texts, books) to the intelligence and sobriety of a journey.
Investigation and responsibilities: what is known, what remains to be established
At the Nanterre prosecutor’s office, the opened investigation will have to determine the circumstances, motivations, and responsibilities. The material elements (paint, supports, possible surveillance images) will need to be exploited. The testimonies collected will help specify the time frame and the logistics of the perpetrators. At this stage, no officially authenticated claim has been recognized.
The criminal qualification (art. 225-17) is clear; the motive, however, may remain uncertain as long as the investigations have not concluded. Speculations are to be avoided. The case nevertheless recalls a tightening of tensions around public symbols: elected officials targeted, monuments attacked, memorial sequences disrupted. Criminal law offers responses; citizen vigilance, however, is the first bulwark.
Political and civic reactions
The condemnations have been cross-party. Emmanuel Macron reiterated a rhetoric of firmness; Anne Hidalgo and Marie-Hélène Amiable also condemned an attack on the memory of a great servant of the State.
Beyond words, the public tribute at the Panthéon acts as a ritual of reparation: it symbolically restores what the degradation sought to debase. The citizens present, anonymous, law students, magistrates, teachers, sometimes former prisoners, give this restitution a face and a voice.
A legacy for an entire nation
The death penalty has been abolished in France since 1981, and its prohibition was constitutionalized (2007). European jurisprudence has consolidated this evolution. The legacy of Robert Badinter is also seen in the decriminalization of homosexuality (1982), in a penology more attentive to the dignity of individuals, and in the civic education surrounding these reforms. In 2025, these achievements remain contested worldwide; in France, they are the subject of commemorations and a consensus that does not exclude debate.
In the wake of the pantheonization, the Panthéon announces a programming and mediation devices to extend the tribute: broadcasts, conferences, and expanded public access in the following days.
Note: practical information and broadcast, on the Panthéon website and on the Élysée channels.
Ethics of a national narrative
The episode of October 9 illustrates a recurring challenge for public life: acts of vandalism seek to polarize the debate. The republican response is to name the fact, apply the law, deploy the rites that unite. Robert Badinter refused anathemas; he preferred to argue and convince. The authority of his example lies less in the prestige of his positions than in the coherence between his principles and his actions.
In the stone of the Panthéon, as in the dust of a municipal cemetery, the same idea must prevail: no one gains by humiliating the dead. The law protects their memory. The City honors those who have enabled it to rid itself of legal violence. To insult, it is wise to oppose the law. To defilement, dignity. And to outrage, that inhabited silence carried, in the evening, by the steps of the Panthéon.