Chirac pressed to pardon Papon

Papon believes he is not guilty of commiting crimes against humanity

PARIS, France -- Two former prime ministers have pressed the French president to pardon Maurice Papon, imprisoned for deporting Jews during World War II.

The ageing former police chief, jailed for 10 years, is the highest-ranking Frenchman to be convicted of crimes against humanity.

Now former prime ministers Pierre Messmer and Raymond Barre are pressing for his release from Paris' La Sante prison.

They are among 17 people, including Resistance figures and intellectuals, who signed a petition addressed to French President Jacques Chirac, Papon's lawyers said.

Papon, 90, was convicted in 1998 of complicity in crimes against humanity for his role in the arrest and deportation of 1,500 Jews.

His case has sparked an impassioned debate in France about jailing the elderly.

The petition cited Papon's age and poor health, saying he could die suddenly in prison.

"We are making this low-ranking civil servant bear the weight of responsibility for the civil service, which was under pressure from the German occupation," the petition said.

A conservative lawmaker sharply criticised the measure. "There were 90-year-olds who were deported to Auschwitz, but nobody signed a pardon for them," Patrick Devedjian, a member of Chirac's conservative party, told Europe-1 radio.

A French Jewish group called the petition "distressing."

The former Vichy official led the Bordeaux area police during the World War II Nazi occupation of France and went on to become budget minister.