The last and heaviest burden in the destiny of Henri Philippe Petain has been a seemingly interminable life. The officer who waited 44 years to become a major, 62 years to be Marshal of France, 84 years to be chief of the French state, was condemned as a traitor at 89. Today, in his fortress cell at Ile d'Yeu, he waits for the end.
Last week, in Paris, a greying cavalry officer, the Marquis Andre de Belleval, fleetingly rustled the tatters of the once great legend of Petain. He and some 500 other sympathizers of the old man attended a public auction...
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