The symbolic recognition of one of the darkest pages in French history. The National Assembly approved, Thursday, March 28, a proposed resolution which “condemns the bloody and murderous repression of Algerians committed under the authority of police prefect Maurice Papon on October 17, 1961.”

Sixty-seven deputies voted for and 11 against, from the ranks of the National Rally. The text also "wishes" for "the inclusion of a day of commemoration (of this) massacre" in the "agenda of national days and official ceremonies".

Also read October 17, 1961, a massacre of Algerians in the heart of Paris

On the occasion of the 61st anniversary of this tragic date, in 2022, the President of the Republic once again denounced the bloody repression of the peaceful demonstration. "In Paris, 61 years ago, the repression of a demonstration by Algerian independence activists left hundreds injured and dozens dead. Inexcusable crimes for the Republic. France does not forget the victims. The truth is the only path to a shared future", Emmanuel Macron then wrote on X.

The same day, in Algeria, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune observed a minute of silence in tribute to the victims.

✅🏛️ The National Assembly adopted a resolution which concerns "the recognition and condemnation of the massacre of Algerians of October 17, 1961 in Paris", carried by @SabrinaSebaihi.#DirectAN pic.twitter.com/DgfQaj8HFj

— LCP (@LCP) March 28, 2024

At least 48 dead in a single night

On October 17, 1961, as the Algerian War was coming to an end, a demonstration by “French Muslims of Algeria” (FMA) was violently repressed in Paris.

Their crime? Having demonstrated peacefully, at the call of the French Federation of the National Liberation Front (FLN), against the curfew imposed on them by the capital's police chief, Maurice Papon. That night, and in the days that followed, men were beaten, executed or thrown into the Seine by police forces.

Stifled initially by politicians and the police, censored in the media, then hidden, this drama, designated as “the most violent contemporary state repression ever applied to a street demonstration in Western Europe” by British historians Jim House and Neil MacMaster, is still controversial.

For several decades, the official death toll was three. Today, there are at least 48 deaths for this October night alone, even if for many historians, it is well over a hundred.

Also read: February 8, 1962, a demonstration for peace in Algeria bloodily repressed in Charonne

With AFP

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