who was twice imprisoned in the bastille (french prison) for his controversial satires
Voltaire Most of Voltaire's early life revolved around Paris. From early on, Voltaire had trouble with the authorities for critiques of the government. These activities were to result in two imprisonments and a temporary exile to England. One satirical verse, in which Voltaire accused the Régent of incest with his own daughter, led to an eleven-month imprisonment in the Bastille.[13] The Comédie-Française had agreed in January 1717 to stage his debut play, Œdipe, and it opened in mid-November 1718, seven months after his release.[14] Its immediate critical and financial success established his reputation.[15] Both the Régent and King George I of Great Britain presented Voltaire with medals as a mark of their appreciation.[16]
Hamida Djandoubi Hamida Djandoubi (Arabic: حميدة جندوبي‎; September 22, 1949 – September 10, 1977) was a Tunisian agricultural worker and convicted murderer. He moved to Marseille, France, in 1968 and six years later he kidnapped, tortured and murdered 22-year-old Élisabeth Bousquet, his former girlfriend. He was sentenced to death in February 1977 and executed by guillotine in September that year. He was the last person to be executed in Western Europe and in the European Union[2] and the last person legally executed by beheading in the Western world. Marcel Chevalier served as chief executioner.[3]