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Hamida Djandoubi's execution by guillotine on September 10, 1977, ended a thousa
Featured Event 1977 Event

September 10

Last Guillotine Falls: France Ends Execution by Blade

Hamida Djandoubi's execution by guillotine on September 10, 1977, ended a thousand-year-old method of state killing that had defined French justice since the Revolution. This grim finality forced France to adopt lethal injection and later the electric chair before ultimately abolishing capital punishment entirely in 1981.

September 10, 1977

49 years ago

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What Else Happened on September 10

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