Paris: President Emmanueli capital sign on english vowel Saturday will become the first French head of state to attend a rally against French rule in the then French colony of Algeria to commemorate the massacre by Paris police of protesters 60 years ago.
The events of October 17, 1961 were hidden for decades and the final death toll is unclear. But many historians believe that it could be up to several hundred.
The rally was called in the midst of a bombing campaign targeting mainland France by pro-independence militants in the final year of France’s increasingly violent attempt to retain Algeria as a North African colony.
On Saturday, a day before the formal anniversary, Macron will take part in a memorial ceremony for the victims in a park on the outskirts of Paris from 1330 GMT.
A big question is whether he makes a formal apology or expresses regret for the actions of the Paris police that day, as the president seeks to forge a modern relationship with France’s past.
The police chief of Paris at that time, Maurice Papon, was later found to be collaborating with the Nazis during World War II.
Elysee said the ceremony would take place in the presence of relatives of the victims, civil society activists who campaigned for recognition of the genocide and veterans for Algeria’s struggle for independence.
Activists are hoping that Macron, the first president born in the post-colonial era, will surpass his predecessor francois holland, who admitted in 2012 that the protesting Algerians were “killed during a bloody repression”.
Campaigners seek apologies, compensation for victims or recognition that repression is a state crime.
The 1961 protests were called in response to a strict curfew imposed on Algerians to prevent the underground FLN resistance movement from collecting funds after deadly attacks on French police officers.
Some of the worst violence occurred on the St. Michel bridge near Notre-Dame Cathedral, where witnesses reported police throwing Algerians into the Seine River, where an unknown number drowned.
Historian Emmanuel Blanchard told AFP: “There was a state cover-up, a state lie. From the morning of 18 October there were government statements seeking to convict the FLN and the Algerians.”
Macron, who is expected to run for re-election next year, may be careful about provoking a backlash from political opponents or French police in his comments.
His far-right electoral opponent, the nationalist Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemor, are vocal critics of attempts to acknowledge or show remorse for past transgressions.
Another complication is an ongoing diplomatic row between Paris and Algiers, prompted by comments by Macron describing the country as governed by a “political-military system”, which “completely rewritten” its history. Was.
A truth commission on the Algerian war was urged by the president in a report by historian Benjamin Stora earlier this year, but Macron declined to issue any official apology.
The events of October 17, 1961 were hidden for decades and the final death toll is unclear. But many historians believe that it could be up to several hundred.
The rally was called in the midst of a bombing campaign targeting mainland France by pro-independence militants in the final year of France’s increasingly violent attempt to retain Algeria as a North African colony.
On Saturday, a day before the formal anniversary, Macron will take part in a memorial ceremony for the victims in a park on the outskirts of Paris from 1330 GMT.
A big question is whether he makes a formal apology or expresses regret for the actions of the Paris police that day, as the president seeks to forge a modern relationship with France’s past.
The police chief of Paris at that time, Maurice Papon, was later found to be collaborating with the Nazis during World War II.
Elysee said the ceremony would take place in the presence of relatives of the victims, civil society activists who campaigned for recognition of the genocide and veterans for Algeria’s struggle for independence.
Activists are hoping that Macron, the first president born in the post-colonial era, will surpass his predecessor francois holland, who admitted in 2012 that the protesting Algerians were “killed during a bloody repression”.
Campaigners seek apologies, compensation for victims or recognition that repression is a state crime.
The 1961 protests were called in response to a strict curfew imposed on Algerians to prevent the underground FLN resistance movement from collecting funds after deadly attacks on French police officers.
Some of the worst violence occurred on the St. Michel bridge near Notre-Dame Cathedral, where witnesses reported police throwing Algerians into the Seine River, where an unknown number drowned.
Historian Emmanuel Blanchard told AFP: “There was a state cover-up, a state lie. From the morning of 18 October there were government statements seeking to convict the FLN and the Algerians.”
Macron, who is expected to run for re-election next year, may be careful about provoking a backlash from political opponents or French police in his comments.
His far-right electoral opponent, the nationalist Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemor, are vocal critics of attempts to acknowledge or show remorse for past transgressions.
Another complication is an ongoing diplomatic row between Paris and Algiers, prompted by comments by Macron describing the country as governed by a “political-military system”, which “completely rewritten” its history. Was.
A truth commission on the Algerian war was urged by the president in a report by historian Benjamin Stora earlier this year, but Macron declined to issue any official apology.
.