The French state-owned rail company SNCF has expressed "
profound
sorrow and regret" for its role in the transport of Jews to Nazi death camps during the Second World War. The company had been criticised in the US for failing to apologise. Hugh Schofield reports.
French state-owned trains and state-paid rail workers were responsible for carrying some 76,000 Jews from France to Germany and the east in World War II. Only a few of them returned. Ever since, SNCF has insisted that it was not responsible. The rail operator was
requisition
ed by the German occupier, and workers
had no choice but
to obey, it said. But now on a trip to the United States, the rail company's chief executive Guillaume Pepy has said that SNCF expressed its "profound sorrow and regret" for the consequences of its actions.
The Iraqi parliament has approved a power-sharing agreement between the main political blocs,
paving the way for
what's been described as a government of "national partnership". The Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki is expected to begin talks to form a new government after the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha ends next Friday. Under the power-sharing deal, his main rival Iyad Allawi is to head a new body for strategic policies.
Tens of thousands of people have marched through German cities to protest at an increase in the retirement age and cuts in welfare. Like many European governments, Germany has cut spending to reduce debts.