Although the trial had been hailed as an opportunity for France to explore a shameful episode of its past, Crumley says the French remain in denial about a lot of things -- 15 percent of the population now votes for Le Pen, a man who says the gas chambers are a detail of history. And with the far right moving inexorably into Frances political mainstream, the issues at the heart of Papons trial are more current than ever.
France Convicts Papon
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France may have convicted former Vichy government official Maurice Papon of complicity in crimes against humanity, but the nations mixed feelings about the Nazi era persist. The verdict is anticlimactic, says TIME Paris correspondent Bruce Crumley. Papon was sentenced to 10 years in prison for deporting Jews to Auschwitz, but a two-year appeal process makes it unlikely the ailing 87-year-old will ever serve time.