Emmanuel Macron announced this Wednesday his desire to pantheonize the former Minister of Justice. Three possibilities are now available to the family.
“Your name must be inscribed alongside those who have done so much for human progress and for France, they are waiting for you at the Pantheon,” declared Emmanuel Macron, closing his speech of tribute to Robert Badinter, Wednesday 14 FEBRUARY. The president thus responded to calls from the left to pantheonize the former Minister of Justice, father of the abolition of the death penalty. A decision which was taken in consultation with Badinter’s family, according to Franceinfo.
What are now the modalities of this pantheonization? The names of illustrious men and women to whom the country expresses its gratitude can be inscribed in the Pantheon in three different ways. The most classic is the burial of their body. This is the honor that awaits the resistance fighters Missak and Mélinée Manouchian on February 21. This is also how Emmanuel Macron decided to pay tribute to the former Minister of Justice Simone Veil in 2018.
Certain deceased personalities are also represented in the Pantheon by a cenotaph, that is to say a tomb which does not contain remains. This is for example the case of singer Joséphine Baker since 2021, whose body is buried in Monaco. Currently, 74 people have a tomb, a funeral urn or a cenotaph in the crypt of the old Parisian church.
The last possible way to inscribe the name of a deceased person in the Pantheon is the commemorative plaque. This is the option that Nicolas Sarkozy chose for Aimé Césaire in 2011, in order to respect the poet’s wish to be buried in Martinique.
For now, Robert Badinter will be buried this week in the Bagneux cemetery by his loved ones. It will be up to them to decide on the terms of his upcoming entry into the Pantheon.
