The French State was responsible for deporting Jews during the Second World War, the top judicial authority ruled for the first time yesterday, but it dismayed families of victims by declaring that they had already been compensated.
The decision by the Council of State, the final arbiter on civil law matters, made formal a doctrine that has been accepted by successive governments since 1995.
It was advising on a case brought by Madeleine Hoffman-Glemane, 75, one of hundreds of victims who have sued recently for damages over their arrests and deportation during the Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1944.
The council called for a “solemn recognition of the responsibility of the State”. France was “responsible for damages caused by actions which did not result from the occupiers’ direct orders but facilitated deportation from France of people who were victims of anti-Semitic persecution”, it said.
