Paris - President Jacques Chirac has rejected an appeal by the convicted French Nazi collaborator, Maurice Papon, for a pardon because of his poor health. Papon (89), who is serving a 10-year prison sentence for his wartime role in deporting Jews to Nazi death camps, has a history of cardiac illness. A communique from the president's office said Papon's lawyer had sought a pardon last December and added: "The head of state has rejected this request for a medical pardon."
Supervisor of the pro-Nazi Vichy regime's regional Office for Jewish Questions in south-west France during the second World War, he was found guilty in April 1998 of helping to organise their transport to death camps.