Papon's Funeral: The Last Controversy
In March 2004, the chancery of the Legion of Honour accused Papon of wearing his decoration (which he was stripped of after his conviction) illegally while being photographed for a press interview for Le Point. He was tried and fined €2,500.
In February 2007, Papon had heart surgery to correct congestive heart failure. While it was initially thought to be successful, he died a few days later on February 17 at the age of 96.
His attorney, Francis Vuillemin, declared that Papon should be buried with insignias of Commander of the Legion of Honour. This triggered indignation from all French political parties, except Jean-Marie Le Pen's far-right National Front. Bernard Accoyer, head of the UMP group in the French National Assembly, suggested that, as high chancellor of the Order of the Legion of Honour, President Chirac might personally intervene to prevent this. Papon was eventually buried with the insignia on February 21, 2007. A son of one of Papon's victims observed, "Besides being a remorseless dead man, he also wishes to remain a vengeful one."
Read more about this topic: Maurice Papon
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