The ''dégradation nationale'' ("National demotion") was a sentence introduced in France after the

Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany inv ...

. It was applied during the '' épuration légale'' ("legal purge") which followed the

fall of the Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...

. The ''dégradation nationale'' was one of the sentences available to the Courts of Justice. It was meant to punish offences of ''

Indignité nationale ''Indignité nationale'' ( French "national unworthiness") was a legally defined offense, created at the Liberation in the context of the "''Épuration légale''". The offence of ''Indignité nationale'' was meant to fill a legal void: while th ...

'' ("national unworthiness"). Individuals sentenced to the ''dégradation nationale'' lost their political, civil and professional rights. They effectively became

second-class citizen A second-class citizen is a person who is systematically and actively discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or a legal resident there. While not necessarily slaves, o ...

Criminal definition

The crime of ''indignité nationale'' involves having "after June 16 1940, knowingly either aided, directly or indirectly, Germany or its allies in France or abroad, or having attacked the unity of the Nation, or the liberty of the French people, or the equality between them" Under the ordinance of December 26, 1944, belonging to certain political parties or movements (such as the ''

Milice The ''Milice française'' (French Militia), generally called ''la Milice'' (literally ''the militia'') (), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy regime (with German aid) to help fight against the F ...

''), participation in certain acts (such as public speech in favor of Nazi Germany or its ideals) or the exercise of certain functions (such as higher ranking employees in the propaganda services or the

Commissariat-General for Jewish Affairs The Commissariat-General for Jewish Affairs (french: Commissariat général aux questions juives; C.G.Q.J.) was a special administration established in March 1941 by the collaborationist Vichy government of France in order to introduce anti-Jewi ...

) demonstrated the crime of ''indignité nationale.''

Usage from 1944 to 1951

There were 50,223 primary cases of ''dégradation nationale'' (3,578 through the Courts of Justice and 46,645 through the Civic Chambers). A total of approximately 100,000 people were sentenced to ''dégradation nationale'' in primary and accessory roles, making it the most applied legal penalty of the immediate postwar period. Notable among the condemned were

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occu ...

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-par ...

, and

Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( , ) was a French novelist, polemicist and physician. His first novel '' Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the '' P ...

. Use of the penalty was generally suspended following the Law of Amnesty of 1951.

Continued usage after 1951

Algerian War

The use of charges of ''indignité nationale'' restarted during the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

. Several " suitcase carriers" of the Jeanson network were sentenced long after 1951, not for having aided "Germany or its allies," but for having "attacked the unity of the Nation, or the liberty of the French people, or the equality between them."

January 2015 attacks

After the

January 2015 Île-de-France attacks From 7 to 9 January 2015, terrorist attacks occurred across the Île-de-France region, particularly in Paris. Three attackers killed a total of 17 in four shooting attacks, and police then killed the three assailants. The attacks also wounded 22 ...

, French President François Hollande considered the possibility of reviving ''indignité nationale'' as a penalty for French citizens who contribute to a terrorist attack. After deputy

Philippe Meunier Philippe Meunier (born 16 March 1966 in Bron, Rhône) is a former member of the National Assembly of France. He represented the Rhône department, and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french ...

of the UMP previously brought the idea before the National Assembly in November 2014, it was taken up again by Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet and Anne Hidalgo. Marine Le Pen declared herself against the idea, calling it a "gadget measure". Socialist deputy Jean-Jacques Urvoas, author of a 2015 parliamentary report on the issue, declared himself for a ''dégradation républicaine'' ("Republican demotion") instead of ''indignité nationale''.

References

Punishments Law of France {{Europe-law-stub