France: On with His Head!

The verdict: not guilty. The accused, Louis XVI, rose from his gilded chair before the revolutionary tribunal and returned to his rightful place as ruler of France. At least, that is how it went last week in Paris during a made-for- television re-enactment of the luckless monarch’s 1792-93 trial, staged as part of celebrations for the bicentennial of the Revolution. TV viewers, playing the jury, telephoned their votes to the TF1 network, which, along with Le Figaro, staged the re-enactment. The result: 55% decided that Louis should be acquitted of the charge of “conspiracy against public liberty and national security.”

The trial took place in the town hall of the 14th Arrondissement. Actors clad in costumes played spectators, witnesses, judges and, of course, the King. Only the lawyers for both sides wore modern clothes — time travelers of sorts. The defense attorney was Jacques Verges, well known for another unpopular case: last year he was chief counsel for former SS Commander Klaus Barbie, “the Butcher of Lyons,” who was convicted of crimes against humanity during the Nazi occupation. Verges’ spirited argument last week, that Louis XVI was a victim of circumstances, fared better.