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| Guillotine sold to French millionaire collector | Guillotine sold to French millionaire collector |
| (about 14 hours later) | |
| A guillotine has fetched €8,008 (£7080) at a controversial auction in Paris. | A guillotine has fetched €8,008 (£7080) at a controversial auction in Paris. |
| The 150-year-old replica of a device used for executions was bought on Wednesday by a French millionaire and collector of bizarre objects. | The 150-year-old replica of a device used for executions was bought on Wednesday by a French millionaire and collector of bizarre objects. |
| France's auction watchdog was opposed to the sale, despite the auction house insisting that the 3m (10ft) instrument in question had never been used. | France's auction watchdog was opposed to the sale, despite the auction house insisting that the 3m (10ft) instrument in question had never been used. |
| The guillotine was last used to behead a convict in 1977. France abolished the death penalty in 1981. | The guillotine was last used to behead a convict in 1977. France abolished the death penalty in 1981. |
| The replica, which has a few dents on the blade, was once on display at a museum of torture in Paris. It was part of a bankruptcy sale of a jazz club that took over the museum's premises. | The replica, which has a few dents on the blade, was once on display at a museum of torture in Paris. It was part of a bankruptcy sale of a jazz club that took over the museum's premises. |
| "They should not be selling this guillotine," a spokesperson for the French auction regulators told the Parisien newspaper. | "They should not be selling this guillotine," a spokesperson for the French auction regulators told the Parisien newspaper. |
| "Objects like the clothes of people who were deported to the (Nazi death) camps and instruments of torture are sensitive." | "Objects like the clothes of people who were deported to the (Nazi death) camps and instruments of torture are sensitive." |
| However, the auction watchdog was unable to block the auction, which lasted only two minutes. Industrialist Christophe Février doubled the starting price of €4,000 (£3,535). | However, the auction watchdog was unable to block the auction, which lasted only two minutes. Industrialist Christophe Février doubled the starting price of €4,000 (£3,535). |
| Real guillotines have been put to auction in the past. One sold for €220,000 in Paris in 2011. Another, initially valued at €40,000, failed to sell in the western city of Nantes in 2014. | Real guillotines have been put to auction in the past. One sold for €220,000 in Paris in 2011. Another, initially valued at €40,000, failed to sell in the western city of Nantes in 2014. |
| The guillotine was first used during the French Revolution, with 16,000 people beheaded between 1793 and 1794, most notably King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. |