Editing Breaking wheel (section)

===France===
In France, the condemned were placed on a cartwheel with their limbs stretched out along the spokes over two sturdy wooden beams. The wheel was made to revolve slowly, and a large hammer or an iron bar was then applied to the limb over the gap between the beams, breaking the bones. This process was repeated several times per limb. Sometimes it was "mercifully" ordered that the executioner should strike the condemned on the chest and abdomen, blows known as {{lang|fr|[[Coup de grâce|coups de grâce]]}} ([[French language|French]]: "blows of mercy"), which caused fatal injuries. Without those, the broken man could last hours and even days, during which birds could peck at the helpless victim. Eventually, [[Shock (circulatory)|shock]] and [[dehydration]] caused death.  In France, a special grace, the ''retentum'', could be granted, by which the condemned was strangled after the second or third blow, or in special cases, even before the breaking began.{{fact|date=December 2021}}