In a speech marking the 80th anniversary of the Vel d’Hiv rally – when France deported more than 13,000 Jews – the French president also denounced the ongoing efforts by some – particularly on the far right – to undermine the Vichy government – and Pétain in particular . – role in deportations.
“Neither Pétain, nor Laval, nor Bousquet, nor Darquier de Pelleport, none of them wanted to save the Jews,” he said, referring to a number of members of the Vichy government. “This is a falsification of history.”
Macron faced criticism after a speech at the 2018 Armistice Day ceremony in which he referred to Pétain as a “great soldier during World War I” even though he made “fatal choices during World War II” .
In a tweet on the Vel d’Hiv anniversary, far-left MP Mathilde Panot said: “Don’t forget these crimes, today more than ever, with a President of the Republic honoring Petain along with 89 [far-right] MPs!”
