Voting Station

Maurice Papon

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Politician

The Resume

    (September 3, 1910-February 17, 2007)
    Born in Gretz-Armainvilliers, France
    Served as a senior police official in the Vichy regime during WWII
    Served as prefect of Corsica (1947-49) and Constantine in Algeria (1949-54,1956-58)
    General Secretary for the French Protectorate in Morocco (1954-56)
    Prefect of the Paris Police (1958-67)
    Served as a deputy in the French legislature (1968-78)
    Mayor of Saint-Armand-Montrond (1971-83)
    Minister of the Budget (1978-81)
    Tried for crimes against humanity committed during World War II (1997-98)
    Convicted of complicity and sentenced to 10 years in prison
    Released on grounds of poor health (September 18, 2002)

Why he might be annoying:

    As a Vichy official, he ordered the deportation of 1600 Jews to concentration camps.
    He arranged the arrest and deportation of 223 Jewish children, an act the Germans had not requested but he did solely to curry favor with them.
    As prefect of Constantine, he approved the torture of suspected rebels in the Algerian War of Independence.
    As chief of Paris police, he ordered an attack against pro-Algerian independence demonstrators, leaving between 100 and 300 people dead (October 17, 1961).
    He was forced to resign over the role played by the police in the kidnapping of a Moroccan dissident.
    During his crimes against humanity trial, he had the chutzpah to compare himself to Alfred Dreyfus.
    He was fined for continuing to wear the Legion of Honor, which he had been stripped of after his conviction (2004).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He claimed he had tried to resign his position but had been asked by the Resistance to remain in office to assist them.
    He helped hide a Jewish member of the Resistance, Roger-Samuel Bloch (1943).
    He was awarded the Legion of Honor and the Cross of the Resistance Fighter.
    He was married to Paulette Asso for 66 years until her death during his trial.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 76.92% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 79 Votes: 55.70% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 29 Votes: 55.17% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 16 Votes: 62.50% Annoying