At least three French nationals, including one woman, are under a death sentence in two states around the world: one in Algeria and two in Morocco. The death penalty thus continues to affect French citizens abroad, as well as their families and friends at home.
These three French nationals were sentenced in different countries, at different times, for different crimes and in contrasting contexts. The level of information about them also varies, with some countries going so far as to criminalise the disclosure of information about the death penalty.
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On 4 April 2026, Chan Thao Phoumy, a Franco-Laotian national, was executed in China, more than fifteen years after he was sentenced to death in 2010 by the Guangzhou court for the manufacture, transport, smuggling and trafficking of drugs. This is the first execution of a French national abroad in nearly 43 years.
On 4 February 2025, French national Serge Atlaoui was transferred to France after spending almost 18 years on Indonesian death row. He had been sentenced to death for drug trafficking in May 2007. On 12 February 2025, the French courts commuted the death sentence handed down to Serge Atlaoui in Indonesia to 30 years’ imprisonment.
In addition, since 2019, at least 13 French citizens sentenced to death abroad (Indonesia, United States and Iraq) have reportedly had their sentences commuted by local courts.
Did you know? Jérôme Carrein was the last French citizen to be executed on French territory. He was guillotined during the night of 22-23 June 1977 in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Subsequently, three French citizens were executed abroad: two in Zimbabwe on 28 April 1983, on charges of murder, despite calls from French authorities not to execute them, and one in China on 4 April 2026.
How can a French national be sentenced to death abroad?
Because individuals are subject to the law in force in the territory on which they are present, regardless of their nationality. Thus, where an offence carries the death penalty under that country’s legislation, a French national can be sentenced to death.
- The grounds of conviction vary (terrorism, unknown), as does the length of time individuals have spent in prison since sentencing: some have been facing a death penalty for almost 30 years.
- The two countries in which the three French nationals sentenced to death are being held both have a de facto moratorium on executions. Nevertheless, there are significant differences between their levels of transparency, the number of individuals sentenced to death, and the use of pardons.
- Under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, ratified by France as well as Algeria, China, and Morocco, French nationals detained in these countries are entitled to consular protection (or assistance).
If the 1981 French law abolishing the death penalty and the constitutionalisation of this principle are to have any meaning, it is France’s responsibility to work towards the repatriation of French nationals sentenced to death abroad and to guarantee the respect of their fundamental rights.”
