In a historic judgment, the French state and the state railway company SNCF were found guilty yesterday of colluding in the deportation of Jews during the second world war and ordered to pay compensation to the family of two victims...The judges found that the SNCF railway company never voiced "any objection" about transporting such prisoners. The journeys were classified as "third class tariffs" despite prisoners being transported in cattle trucks and SNCF continued to ask for payment of the bills after France was liberated from the Nazis...The lawyer for the SNCF said yesterday that the company would appeal against the ruling. He said the railway could not be held responsible for the transportation because it had been forced to cooperate with German occupying forces.