A Life

Veil, the former French politician who became first President of the European Union, was born Simone Jacob in 1927. In her long-awaited memoir, she describes in vivid detail a time of happiness and innocence spent in Nice where she grew up. This happy time came to an abrupt end in 1944, when at the age of 17, her family was deported to the camps. Her mother, father and brother all died in captivity. With undeterred resolve, she studied law and political science and became Minister for Healt...