Ex-Vichy Official Stripped of Honor

Former Vichy official Maurice Papon, jailed for his role in the deportation of Jews during World War II, has been stripped of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award for lifetime achievement, the government said. Papon, 89, was convicted in 1998 of complicity in crimes against humanity committed while he was a high-ranking police supervisor between 1942 and 1944. He began serving his 10-year sentence last month after France’s highest court upheld the conviction after his refusal to attend the appeals hearing. Papon fled to Switzerland but was quickly apprehended and brought back to France. His conviction means he no longer has the right to wear the insignia of the Legion of Honor on his lapel.