Overview

• A solemn evening ceremony in Paris marked Badinter’s symbolic entry with a cenotaph containing personal items chosen by Élisabeth Badinter, while his remains continue to rest at the Bagneux cemetery.
• In his address, Macron cast Badinter’s legacy in the light of 1789 and the rule of law, vowed to carry the fight for global abolition, and urged vigilance against antisemitism.
• The tribute featured readings of Badinter’s courtroom pleas and a Victor Hugo text by actor Guillaume Gallienne, along with Julien Clerc performing L’assassin assassiné.
• The cenotaph was placed in the Panthéon’s “revolutionaries of 1789” vault beside Condorcet, the Abbé Grégoire and Gaspard Monge, with the date chosen to echo the 9 October 1981 abolition law.
• Hours before the ceremony, his Bagneux tomb was defaced with hostile inscriptions, quickly cleaned by authorities, as the Nanterre prosecutor opened a desecration inquiry assigned to the Hauts-de-Seine territorial police, drawing broad political condemnation including Macron’s denunciation on X.