French court annuls WWII deportation train ruling

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An appeals court on Tuesday overturned a ruling that France's state railway network should compensate the family of World War II deportees. The original ruling last June had been the first of its kind. The administrative court in Toulouse had ordered the state and the SNCF rail authority to pay €62,000 (US$82,000) for their role in World War II deportations. The SNCF appealed the decision. The state did not. The appeals court in Bordeaux sided with the railway company, annulling the first ruling against the SNCF on grounds that the case did not fall within the Toulouse court's jurisdiction. The appeals court retained the SNCF's arguments that it was not responsible because it was acting under requisition orders. It was an important victory for the SNCF because at least 1,200 other families and groups had asked for similar compensation following the original ruling.