France, Oct. 9 -- Robert Badinter, the lawyer and former justice minister who led France to end the death penalty, will be inducted into the Pantheon in Paris on Thursday - 44 years to the day after the abolition law took effect.
President Emmanuel Macron will preside over the tribute from 6.30pm local time as Badinter's coffin travels up rue Soufflot to the neoclassical mausoleum overlooking Paris's Latin Quarter.
The date was chosen because 9 October, 1981 marked the promulgation of the law ending capital punishment in France.
"Your name will be inscribed alongside those who have done so much for human progress and for France, and who are waiting for you to join them," Macron said at a national tribute held in February at Place Vendome...