The French have thought this way for over 200 years.
Hollande is just putting it into practice for the first time since the guillotines stopped falling.
The guillotine was used until fairly recently, actually. Just as a point of interest:
"The guillotine remained the official method of execution in France until the death penalty was abolished in 1981. The last guillotining in France was that of torture-murderer Hamida Djandoubi on September 10, 1977." (Wikipedia)
Seems like it just needs a quick dusting off, and it's good to go!