General Charles de Gaulle last week made a ringing appeal for mercy for men branded as traitors and enemies of France. "It is absurd," De Gaulle told newsmen, "that so many young men should still rot in prisons and concentration camps." He talked of a general amnesty for many of the 50,000 political prisoners still serving out their prison sentences.
"I am surprised," De Gaulle said, "that none of you ask me about Marshal Petain. Let me talk to you about him ... It was necessary to condemn him, because his person symbolized capitulation . . . But today...
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