French Holocaust victims said Thursday that convicted Nazi-era war criminal Maurice Papon’s claim of destitution is bogus. The weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported Wednesday that Papon recently made a claim for special social security payments, saying he lacked sufficient money to live on. Lawyers representing Holocaust survivors and their families opposed the claim. Papon received a 10-year prison sentence in 1998 for his role in deporting more than 1,500 French Jews to Nazi death camps. Last month, Papon attempted to regain his pension as a former government minister, but a new law was passed that enabled his victims to claim part of his pension as compensation for their suffering. The government turned down Papon’s claim, saying he has enough money to live on.
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