Paul Touvier, a former Vichy militiaman sentenced to death in 1947 for war crimes, escaped justice thanks to the support of the Church and the statute of limitations in 1967. In 1973, he obtained a presidential pardon from Pompidou, but an...See morePaul Touvier, a former Vichy militiaman sentenced to death in 1947 for war crimes, escaped justice thanks to the support of the Church and the statute of limitations in 1967. In 1973, he obtained a presidential pardon from Pompidou, but an investigation reopened the case for crimes against humanity, for which there is no statute of limitations. Hunted down, he was arrested in 1989 at the Saint-Joseph priory in Nice. His trial opened in March 1994, shedding light on the role of the Milice, the armed wing of the collaboration, and of Vichy. Touvier was charged with complicity in crimes against humanity for the execution of seven Jews in reprisal for the murder of a propagandist. His personal notebooks reveal his anti-Semitism. On April 20, 1994, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in 1997. The trial opened the way for reflection on the responsibility of the French state during the Occupation.
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