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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
National
Alison Hird

How 184 random citizens helped shape France’s debate on assisted dying

Members of the Citizens' Convention on end of life care at the CESE in Paris, mark the end of four months of discussions on the divisive issue of assisted dying, April 2023. KATRIN BAUMANN 2023

French MPs will on Tuesday vote on two landmark bills on palliative care and assisted dying. They're the result of months of debate shaped by a rare democratic experiment that brought together 184 randomly selected citizens to grapple with one of society’s most intimate and divisive questions: how should we die?

Marc-Olivier Strauss-Kahn was on a high-speed train in November 2022 when his phone rang. The 71-year-old retired economist had no idea he was about to join what he would later describe as "the best social experience of my life".

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