Appointment of Jean-François Lefranc as advisor on Jewish property to Darquier de Pellepoix

Jean-François Lefranc became a close advisor on Jewish property matters to the recently-appointed secretary general of the CGQJ, Darquier de Pellepoix, with whom he had served in a regiment during WWI. Darquier was worried about seizures of Jewish assets conducted by German agents at the expense of Vichy. Lefranc stressed the urgent need to target Jewish assets under existing Vichy laws and convince the French Museum Administration to exercise its pre-emption rights on those works which it valued as important to France’s cultural heritage.