Two important decrees–one of them providing that no French civil servant be of foreign origin–were published in the Official Gazette in Vichy today under the signature of Marshal Henri Petain, French chief of state, according to a German wireless report.
Under the new ruling all civil servants must be able to prove that their father and mother were French. Some exceptions will be made for veterans of the Great War and the present war. Civil servants whose ancestry does not meet these requirements may be discharged and will receive a small pension.
The other decree provides that civil servants of the French state and other administrations, including military bodies, may be discharged by the Government between now and October 31 despite previous legal provisions pertaining to their tenure. Those discharged will be granted a severance pay equivalent to three months’ wages.
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