Almost 60 years after the end of the Algerian war, Emmanuel Macron became the first French president to ask for forgiveness for the suffering of the Algerian auxiliary soldiers. He announced a law on financial reparation. "I beg your pardon for the fighters left behind, their families who went through camp, prison and denial," said Macron at a memorial ceremony on Monday in the Elysée Palace. During the Algerian war, France reinforced its own troops with 150,000 so-called Harkis. After independence and the withdrawal of the French, tens of thousands of them were massacred as traitors. The Harkis and their families who managed to escape to France were interned in camps. In the camp in Rivesaltes near Perpignan, a memorial has been created to commemorate their fate. In April 2012,In the middle of the election campaign, Nicolas Sarkozy, a French president, traveled to Rivesaltes for the first time and laid a wreath. “France should have protected the Harkis. It couldn't, ”Sarkozy said at the time.
Michaela Wiegel
Political correspondent based in Paris.
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They should now be compensated for their suffering and discrimination.
Macron announced a corresponding law.
In the Elysée Palace it was said that there was no precedent.
It is a singular process of reconciliation.
Several hundred thousand Harkis and their relatives and descendants still live in France.
Algeria is still struggling with them to this day.
Most recently, the then Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika called them “collaborators” in 2000 and denied them a right of return.
"I would like to express our gratitude to the fighters, we will not forget them," said Macron on Monday. In 2016, Socialist President François Hollande acknowledged France's responsibility for the injustice that had befallen the Harkis. Hollande denounced "the inhumane reception conditions" for those Harkis who were able to flee to France. However, he did not ask for forgiveness because he did not want to bear the financial consequences of the compensation payments. The modalities of the financial compensation are not yet known. In the Elysée Palace it was said that they wanted to calculate the damage caused to children, for example, due to a lack of learning opportunities.
Until the 1970s, the children were refused entry to state schools. This should avoid social contact. Immediately after Macron's announcement, unrest broke out in the hall in which the Harkis, their descendants and representatives of their associations were gathered. A woman interrupted Macron. "I don't make airy promises," said the President. He said the pension payments for the former fighters or their widows should be increased. For the second generation, a method must be found to adequately make amends for the suffering suffered in the camps.