A 62-year-old French national born in Laos has been executed despite the efforts of French authorities, including seeking clemency on humanitarian grounds for our fellow countryman,” the ministry said in a statement, affirming France’s opposition to the death penalty “everywhere and in all circumstances” and calling for its universal abolition.
French diplomatic pressure remains in vain
“We particularly regret that Chan Thao Phoumy’s defense did not have access to the final court hearing, which constitutes a violation of the individual’s rights,” the ministry added.
Originally sentenced to life in prison after his arrest in 2005, Chan Thao Phoumy was retried following the emergence of “new elements” and sentenced to death by a court in Canton for the production, transportation, smuggling, and trafficking of methamphetamine.
He was accused of being part of a network that allegedly produced tons of this synthetic drug in China from 1999 to 2003.
Asked about Chan Thao Phoumy’s case on Sunday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not comment on the details of the matter.
A controversial judicial process contested by Paris
“The fight against drug-related crimes is the responsibility of all states,” according to a statement.
According to this text, China “treats accused individuals of various nationalities in the same way, strictly and fairly manages cases in accordance with the law, and protects the rights and legal treatment of the parties involved.”
According to figures from the association Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) from 2025, he was one of four French nationals sentenced to death worldwide, along with Nora Lalam sentenced in 2005 in Algeria, and Stéphane et Idir et Redouane Hammadi sentenced in Morocco for the Marrakech attack in 1994.
China, world champion of executions
Another French national sentenced to death in Indonesia in 2007, Serge Atlaoui, was transferred to France in February 2025 following a diplomatic agreement, and the French justice system commuted his sentence to 30 years in prison. He was released from prison in July.
In its latest report on the death penalty in 2024, Amnesty International estimates that China is “the country in the world with the largest number of executions,” with “thousands of people sentenced to death and executed” each year.
China does not publish official statistics on the use of the death penalty, classified as a state secret.
