Massacre of October 17, 1961: an unprecedented commemoration on the part of France

Jacques Serais, edited by Clément Perruche 6:58 am, October 16, 2021

TO ANALYSE

The weekend is marked by the commemorations of the 60th anniversary of October 17, 1961, the day during which a peaceful demonstration of Algerian immigrants was brutally suppressed by the Parisian police.

At the initiative of the National Liberation Front (FLN), between 20,000 and 30,000 Algerians from Aubervilliers, Nanterre, Colombes, Courbevoie or Saint-Denis expressed their support for the independence of Algeria.

Official assessment: six dead.

At least 120, historians estimate today.

This Saturday, Emmanuel Macron commemorates the event by presiding over a ceremony at the foot of the Pont de Bezons, in Colombes, not far from the slum of Nanterre from which many demonstrators had left.

>> READ ALSO - 

Diplomacy: Paris ensures "its fundamental respect for Algerian sovereignty"

An unprecedented approach

The approach is unprecedented on the part of a French president.

Until now, a French head of state has never commemorated the massacre of October 17, 1961. Emmanuel Macron will lay a wreath on the banks of the Seine, before respecting a minute of silence alongside children and small children. of demonstrators.

"A presence which signifies the recognition of the facts", decrypts an adviser to the Head of State.

Emmanuel Macron will not deliver any speech, however.

Only one text will be distributed to the press and published on the Élysée website.

In 2012, François Hollande had recognized via a press release "a bloody repression" to qualify the night of October 17, 1961.

Through the choice of words, Emmanuel Macron is preparing to take a further step but neither apologies nor forgiveness are a priori considered.

This commemoration will undoubtedly be very commented on in Algeria, while Franco-Algerian relations have recently cooled.

On the Elysée side, a single message: "This event belongs to our national memory."