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French far-right leader calls for death penalty

France’s Front National leader announced Thursday that if elected she would propose a referendum to bring back capital punishment in the country.

“I personally believe that the death penalty should exist in our legal arsenal,” Marine Le Pen told television channel France 2.

“I always said that I would offer French citizens the possibility to express themselves on the topic through a referendum,” Le Pen added.

Capital punishment was practiced in France from the middle ages until 1977 with the guillotine as the only legal execution method.

The last person to be executed was Hamida Djandoubi who was executed in September 1977.