France
Practice Relating to Rule 46. Orders or Threats That No Quarter Will Be Given
France’s Disciplinary Regulations (1975), as amended in 1982, provides that, under international conventions, it is prohibited “to declare that no quarter will be given”.
France’s LOAC Summary Note (1992) states: “It is prohibited to order that there shall be no survivors or prisoners and to threaten the enemy therewith.”
France’s LOAC Teaching Note (2000) states: “It is prohibited to order that there shall be no survivors.”
France’s LOAC Manual (2001) provides: “It is prohibited to order that there shall be no survivors, to threaten an adversary therewith or to conduct hostilities on this basis.”
France’s Code of Defence (2004), as amended in 2008, states: “It is prohibited to order that there shall be no survivors or to threaten the adversary therewith.”
France’s Penal Code (1992), as amended in 2010, states in its section on war crimes common to both international and non-international armed conflicts: “Ordering that there shall be no survivors or threatening the adversary therewith is punishable by life imprisonment.”