Vandals targeted the grave of Marshal Philippe Petain, the leader of France's wartime Vichy regime that collaborated with the Nazis, an official said Wednesday. Vandals smashed vases and mortuary plagues from nearby tombs onto Petain's grave on the Ile d'Yeu off the coast of western France, said Vincent Lagoguey, an official in the western Vendee region. Petain's tomb itself was not damaged. Police have opened an inquiry, and no suspects have been identified.
Petain was a hero of World War I, but was discredited later for collaborating with the Nazis. He was convicted of treason after World War II, but his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He died in 1951 while imprisoned on Ile d'Yeu.
| It doesn't take much in the way of guts to beat up the dead. |