Chevalier Marcel

Last chief executioner in France. He succeeded André Obrecht in 1976 and held his position until 1981, when capital punishment was abolished under president François Mitterrand and justice minister Robert Badinter. Chevalier, who started his executioners career in 1958, performed about 40 executions. After his appointment as chief executioner, on October 1, 1976, he executed only two people. They were the last two executions in France. He was married to Marcelle Obrecht, the niece of penultimate chief executioner of France, André Obrecht. Marcel Chevalier was interviewed by the press on a number of occasions, but later, disillusioned by the sensationalist nature of press coverage, chose to say nothing of his experiences with the guillotine. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less