France: On with His Head!

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...

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