France, Jan. 8 -- Mitterand died on 8 January 1996, yet he remains a presence in French politics.

The Socialist Party figurehead did not merely lead France from 1981 to 1995; he rearranged the country's political map, then left his successors to argue over his legacy.

According to Mitterrand's biographer, Philip Short, the misunderstandings surrounding Mitterrand begin not with his presidency, but much earlier - and they continue to shape how he is remembered today. Collaborator and resistant

"One of the most discussed periods of his early career was the period at Vichy when he was working in the Petain administration, and at the same time became a Resistance leader," Short says, noting that this apparent contradiction has been "reproa...