Despite autonomy from German policies, Pétain brought in
legislation setting up a Jewish Statute in October 1940. By then
about 150,000 Jews had crossed what was known as the Demarcation
Line to seek protection from Vichy in the south - only to find
they were subjected to fierce discrimination along lines
practised by the Germans in the north. Jews were eventually
banned from the professions, show business, teaching, the civil
service and journalism. After an intense propaganda campaign,
Jewish businesses were 'aryanised' by Vichy's Commission for
Jewish Affairs and their property was confiscated. More than
40,000 refugee Jews were held in concentration camps under
French control, and 3,000 died of poor treatment during the
winters of 1940 and 1941. The writer Arthur Koestler, who was
held at Le Vernet near the Spanish frontier, said conditions
were worse than in the notorious German camp, Dachau. During
1941 anti-Semitic legislation, applicable in both zones, was
tightened. French police carried out the firs