Argentina officially withdrew this Tuesday, May 9, from Maurice Papon the Order of May. The distinction had been awarded to him in 1979 by the Argentine dictator Jorge Videla.
Papon was the first European country to make an official visit to Argentina since the coup d'état of 24 March 1976. Argentine President Alberto Fernandez stripped him of the decoration on Tuesday for making himself "responsible for acts incompatible with the spirit and purpose" of the May Order. This refers in particular to Papon's participation in the deportation of Jews between 1942 and 1944.