Today's Date:

On January 25, 1997, the Prime Minister, at the time Alain Juppé, announced the establishment of a "working party to look into the circumstances under which movable and immovable property belonging to Jews living in France was confiscated or, generally speaking, acquired by fraud, violence or deceit, either by the occupying power or the Vichy authorities, between 1940 and 1944.

To this end, a working party was set up on March 25, 1997 by order of the Prime Minister who appointed M. Jean Matteoli, Chairman of the Economic and Social Council, as its chairman. Working with him are a vice-chairman and six other members from a variety of professional backgrounds. Confirmed by M. Lionel Jospin, the working party's mission is to assess the scale of the plunder; to indicate the specific categories of natural and legal persons who or which benefited from it; to determine the fate of this plundered property from the end of the war to the present day; to seek to identify its current whereabouts and legal status; to draw up an inventory of assets seized on French soil which are still in the possession of French or foreign public institutions and authorities; to make proposals to the government on the future of these assets.

- The work of the Mattéoli Commission

- Washington Conference on Holocaust Era Assets
Washington, Nov 30 - Dec 3, 1998

• Other statements :

- Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France : Speech given by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin
Paris, December 1, 2001

- Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France : Speech given by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin
Paris, November 4, 2000

- France Compensates Deportation Victims' Descendants
August 23, 2000

- Address by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin at the Dinner given by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France
Washington, November 28, 1998

- Address by The President of the Republic, Jacques Chirac, on the occasion of the Inauguration of the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme
Paris, November 30, 1998

• Art Catalog available on line :

- Schloss Collection

- MNR Index