The following is the text of a joint statement issued December 8 by the United States of America and France.

Begin Text:

Today, France and the United States have signed an agreement in Washington to establish a compensation fund for those Holocaust victims deported from France who had not been able to gain access to the French compensation program. This fund will supplement the schemes established by France since 1946 for reparation and compensation of the victims of anti-Semitic persecutions led by the German occupation authorities and the Vichy regime. In this year marked by the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy and Provence, this agreement further strengthens the historic friendship and ties between our two countries. For more information, please see our factsheet.