A melt oxychlorination process which produces trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene by chlorinating C.sub.2 hydrocarbons and their incompletely chlorinated derivatives containing at least 50% by weight of 1,1,2-trichloroethane, dichloroethylene, or both together, with a melt consisting essentially of iron chloride, copper chloride and alkali metal chloride by dispersing the material to be chlorinated in the melt whereby said material is chlorinated by the melt, wherein certain alkali metal chlorides, proportions thereof, and process conditions are utilized to provide desired product selectivity.