French President Emmanuel Macron received Friday at the Elysee Palace nine former Senegalese riflemen living in France who decided to return to their country of origin thanks to exceptional financial assistance from the French state.

"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.

"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 has paused (in relation to the controversies targeting him in France, especially about the pension reform, Editor's note). He listened to them, and above all, he thanked them," she said.

The nine men, aged between 85 and 96 according to the association, will soon begin a "permanent return trip to Senegal" after a life spent in France, which they served as soldiers during the wars of decolonization, mainly in Indochina and Algeria.

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Nine Senegalese riflemen return home © France24

Maintenance of the minimum old-age allowance

This trip was made possible thanks to a derogation decided by the French government, which allows them to live permanently in their country of origin, without losing their minimum old-age allowance.

Before that, "they were obliged to stay 6 months a year in France to continue to receive this minimum old-age allowance of 950 euros per month – allowance that allowed their families back home to have a minimum to meet their needs," explains the association.

"All their families, women, children, grandchildren are in the country," said his spokeswoman Fatou Biramah. A family that they had to leave to live six months in France, "alone in rooms not exceeding 15m2". "It was heavy," she said.

The aid put in place, the amount of which is not disclosed, is intended to finance their journey and resettlement in their country of origin. Medical assistance in Senegal will be covered by the France, according to Fatou Biramah.

>> Watch: Focus: Forgotten heroes, the last Senegalese riflemen will be able to receive their pension in the country

The last skirmishers

The Secretariat for Veterans Affairs estimates that there are 37 "Senegalese riflemen" living in France. These people, who have long suffered from a lack of recognition from France, are mostly alone.

>> READ ALSO: Recognition of Senegalese riflemen: "Things are moving slowly but surely"

Created under the Second Empire (1852-1870) and 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.

With AFP

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