The Cremieux Decree, which was abrogated in 1941 by the Vichy government of Marshal Petain and later by Gen. Henri Giraud, was today reinstated by the French Committee for National Liberation, it was reported here from Algiers. The 140,000 native Algerian Jews who were deprived of their French citizenship by abrogation of the decree, have thus had all their pre-war rights restored.
The Cremieux Decree, which was issued in 1870, will govern the Jews of Algeria until the French Republic is re-established, the report said. Today’s act came as a result of pressure on the part of liberal elements, including Gen. de Gaulle, who considered repeal of the decrees to be an anti-Jewish measure contrary to the principles of a democratic France.
While the Vichy Government abrogated the Cremieux Decree under German pressure, Gen. Giraud explained his repeal of the decree as motivated by a desire to keep the Jews of Algeria on the same status as the Moslems there, despite the fact that the Moslems, for various reasons, preferred not to accept French citizenship. French circles here today predicted that with the restoration of the native Algerian Jews to full French citizenship, some gesture will also be made to the Arab population in Algeria.
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