France: Emmanuel Macron receives nine Senegalese riflemen who are preparing to return home

French President Emmanuel Macron with Senegalese veterans of the French army wishing to return home, at the Élysée Palace this Friday, April 14, 2023. AFP - LEWIS JOLY

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A meeting took place this Friday, April 14 at the Élysée, between President Macron and nine former Senegalese riflemen still living in France. The latter will be able to live permanently in their country of origin without giving up the minimum old-age allowance. Paris will also set up exceptional financial assistance to finance their return and resettlement. In particular, medical assistance in Senegal will be covered.

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The French head of state received in Paris nine Senegalese veterans, nine men. And "today, it's recorded, it's official: they will be able to return at the end of the month. Finally," said Fatou Biramah, a spokeswoman for the Association for the Memory and History of Senegalese Riflemen.

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Our dear and tender, our grandpa, our elders, were received by the President of the Republic. Everything was moving. It was a tender moment, it was sweet. The president paused. He listened to them, and above all, he thanked them," she said after the meeting.

All are between 85 and 96 years old according to the association. They will soon begin a "permanent return trip to Senegal" after spending their lives in France, a country they served as soldiers, during the wars of decolonization and mainly in Indochina and Algeria.

They will benefit from a derogation from the government, allowing them to settle permanently in Africa without losing their minimum old-age allowance. Until now, they had to stay six months a year in France to continue receiving this aid of "950 euros per month", explains the association.

►To read: Paris inaugurates the Place des Tirailleurs-Sénégalais in honor of the soldiers of Africa

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All their families, wives, children, grandchildren, etc., are in the country," adds Fatou Biramah. These elderly people therefore had to leave their relatives to live six months on French territory, "alone in rooms not exceeding 15m2". "It was heavy," she says.

An aid, the amount of which has not been disclosed, will aim to finance this return trip and these resettlements in Senegal. On-site medical assistance will also be provided by the France, according to Biramah. In total, the Veterans Affairs Secretariat estimates that there are 37 in France.

The French corps known as the "Senegalese Tirailleurs" was created under the Second Empire of Napoleon III. It was dissolved in the early 1960s, the French corps of "Senegalese Tirailleurs" brought together soldiers born in former French colonies in Africa and enlisted in the French army.

The term came to refer to all soldiers from sub-Saharan Africa who fought under the French flag, regardless of their nationality or country of origin. They participated in World War II and the wars of decolonization.

►To deepen: The role and history of African riflemen

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• France
• Senegal
• Emmanuel Macron
• Senegalese riflemen