France was one of the countries controlled by the Germans at the early stages of war, but it had a high level of democratic tradition of Liberte, Fraternity and Egalite. Many factors contributed to the relatively high survival rate, the most important factor was the attitude of the silent majority, who made it difficult of the Germans to identify and catch the Jews. Even the local police cooperated only reluctantly with the Germans, Jews were provided with false identification papers, given shelter and moral support. In my eyes the French people redeemed themselves by their actions. For me the help the Jews received from the French people is more important then the misdeeds of Laval, Petain or Papon.
Collective consciousness is very selective and like history very subjective.
It is bad to remember only the evil and forget the good. Nevertheless, I am glad that the Papon trial will bring the Holocaust closer to the collective consciousness of the French people.