PARIS (AP) — President Francois Hollande has led ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the largest round up of Jews in World War II France.
On July 16 and 17, 1942, 13,000 Jews were deported by French police, many of whom were first holed up in Paris' Vel d'Hiv, or the Winter Velodrome stadium.
Former French President Jacques Chirac was the last French leader to lead a ceremony there in 1995 and, for the first time, acknowledge the state's role in Jewish persecution.
Holland told the gathering Sunday that the crime "was committed in France by France."
Holland said that "Not one German soldier, not one was mobilized during this entire operation."
