A Frenchman executed in China after being convicted of drug trafficking

On Saturday, April 4, the French Foreign Ministry announced the execution in Guangzhou of a French national sentenced to death for drug trafficking. Chan Thao Phoumy, 62, had been sentenced to death in 2010 by a local court, according to French authorities, and the execution took place after "more than twenty years of imprisonment." In a statement released early that evening, Paris said it learned the news "with dismay." The ministry asserted that French services had lobbied Chinese authorities to obtain a commutation of his sentence. To no avail.

Beijing remains inflexible; Paris denounces an attack on the rights of the defense

Beijing remains steadfast on the issue of drugs. French diplomacy, for its part, "regrets" that the condemned man's lawyers were not allowed access to the final hearing, calling it a "violation of the individual's rights," while offering its condolences to the family and expressing its "grief." France also reiterated its opposition "everywhere and in all circumstances" to the death penalty, advocating for its universal abolition—a message that clashes with China's very strict penal policy and its silence on the number of executions, which are classified as state secrets. One stark fact remains, a difficult one to accept: when the Chinese justice system makes a ruling, even after years, it does so without hesitation, and the Franco-Chinese relationship will have to continue to contend with this iron line.