The Last Quarter Hour: what if the death penalty had not been abolished by Robert Badinter?

On this day when Robert Badinter enters the Pantheon, this short film recounts with pedagogy, in uchronistic mode, the intellectual and humanist journey which led him to pass this law abolishing capital punishment in 1981.

Imagine the France of 2025 where the death penalty has not been abolished. This is the framework chosen for The Last Quarter of an Hourshort film directed by Arthur Dupont de la Motte, available since Wednesday on the France.tv website. And inside which Jacques Villars, a lawyer, goes to the Elysée to meet the President of the Republic in order to obtain a pardon for one of his clients who has just been sentenced to capital punishment.

On this day of Pantheonization of Robert Badinter, the man who as François Mitterrand’s Minister of Justice carried the text of the abolition of the death penalty (voted with 363 votes in favor – therefore well beyond the left bloc alone – and 118 against), The Last Quarter of an Hour is to see… and listen. Because this uchrony is based on a verbal face-to-face which allows, through the dialogues exchanged between Villars and the Head of State, to recall both the intellectual and humanist arguments which led to this abolition ending up being voted for in France (which was one of the last countries in Western Europe to do so) but also that this was possible, despite a largely reluctant public opinion, through the courage to go against it. contrary winds. A position which would certainly have been even more perilous to hold in our world today where social networks play the role of a sounding board for extreme opinions of all sides.

Through this educational but never academic film, we feel Arthur Dupont de la Motte’s desire to address above all the younger generations, those who have never known France during the time of capital punishment. To salute what was the fight of Badinter’s life. And to recall the intellectual and moral journey that led to this major change in our society, while voices continue to be raised to contest it or even want to erase it.

And the success of this short obviously relies a lot on the interpretation of two members of the Comédie Française – Guillaume Gallienne and Sylvia Bergé – but also on the setting within which it takes place: the real salons of the Elysée Palace. An exceptional authorization granted by the Presidency of the Republic which establishes the credibility of the film.

By Arthur Dupont de la Motte. With Guillaume Gallienne and Sylvia Bergé. Duration: 0h40. Available on France.tv and Friday October 10 on the Tout l’histoire channel