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flag French authorities launched legal action after a rally praising WWII collaborator Petain sparked outrage over historical revisionism.

flag French authorities announced legal action after remarks praising Philippe Petain, a World War I hero later convicted of treason for leading France’s Nazi collaborationist Vichy regime, were made following a mass in Verdun. flag The event, organized by the Association to Defend the Memory of Marshal Petain, drew around 20 attendees and 100 protesters. flag ADMP president Jacques Boncompain called Petain “the first resistant of France” and claimed his 1945 conviction was unjust, prompting condemnation from Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and CRIF, who called the tribute offensive to the memory of 76,000 Jews deported under his rule. flag The prefect of Meuse labeled the comments “clearly revisionist,” a criminal offense in France punishable by up to a year in prison and a 45,000 euro fine. flag The ceremony occurred shortly after Armistice Day, heightening tensions over how France remembers its wartime past, and was permitted despite a local mayor’s attempt to ban it.

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