The Head of State recalled that the newly honoured Marcus had been a Gaullist since he was 14 and had managed to escape the Nazi roundups during the Second World War. A former deputy mayor of Paris and former Member of Parliament representing the 10th arrondissement (Paris city district), Claude-Gérard Marcus is a member of CRIF’s Steering Committee and President of Judaïsme et Liberté (Judaism and Freedom). He is also honorary president of the Museum of Jewish Art.