Serge Atlaoui, 51, was due to be executed alongside eight other drug offenders two months ago but won a temporary reprieve after Paris stepped up pressure, with Indonesian authorities agreeing to let an outstanding appeal run its course.
Yesterday the State Administrative Court in Jakarta dismissed Atlaoui's appeal, in which his lawyers argued that the president rejected the convict's plea for clemency without proper consideration.
"It will be up to the lawyers to decide what other avenues to pursue" said the French head of state to the press after a European summit in Brussels late yesterday, adding "France, without going into the legal debate, is doing everything to keep Serge Atlaoui alive."
The execution in April of two Australians, a Brazilian, four Nigerians and an Indonesian sparked global anger. But President Joko Widodo insists convicted traffickers must be harshly punished, saying Indonesia is facing a crisis due to rising drug use.
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Indonesian authorities signalled the execution would not happen during Islam's holiest month, Ramadan, which ends mid-July in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.
Atlaoui, a welder, was arrested in 2005 in a secret drugs factory outside Jakarta, with authorities accusing him of being a "chemist" at the site.
But the father of four has maintained his innocence, claiming that he was installing machinery in what he thought was an acrylics plant.
France has mounted a diplomatic campaign to save him, warning Jakarta of unspecified consequences if he is put to death and questioning Indonesia's legal system, which has a reputation as deeply corrupt.