Macron acknowledges 1944 massacre in Senegal

French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged in a letter to Senegalese President Bassirou Diyomaye that the killing of West African soldiers by the French army in 1944 was a massacre. It comes on the 80th anniversary of the killing.

Between 35 and 400 unarmed West African soldiers were shot for protesting for the payment of wages. This should come as a closure of a dark chapter in France’s and Senegal’s dark chapter in history. Curiously, it also comes at a time when France is losing its influence in the West African countries where it held colonies in the pre-Second World period.

It is indeed an open question that Macron’s question will heal the historical wound in the memory of people, and whether this will help mend France’s relations with its former colonies in the region.

France had to withdraw its troops from many countries in the region like Male where the military had taken over. There are 350 French soldiers in Senegal, mainly in supportive role.

France’s relationship with the colonies has been a difficult one. While being part of the French colonial empire gave the colonies and their people certain privileges like citizenship of France, there was at the same time ruthless suppression and racial discrimination.

It is a contradiction at the heart of the French colonial history. Republican France wanted to share with the colonies the legacy of the 1789 French Revolution with its banner of liberty, equality and fraternity. But racial discrimination was at the heart of the French colonial ethos.

President Diomaye told reporters on Thursday, “We have long sought closure on this story, and we believe that, this time, France’s commitment will be full, frank and collaborative.”

Macron in his letter to Diomaye said, “France must recognise that on that day the confrontation between soldiers and riflemen who demanded their full legitimate wages be paid, triggered a chain of events that resulted in a massacre. It is also important to establish, as far as possible, the causes and facts that led to this tragedy. I have asked my services to inform me of the progress of the work of the Committee for the Restoration of the Facts, which your government has decided to set up, under the direction of Professor Mamadou Diof, whose eminence and qualities are recognised by all.”

It has to be noted that Macron does not express regret, does not offer an apology for what he accepts as a “massacre” and a “tragedy”. What he has done is to accept that the French army killed unarmed West African soldiers who fought for France in the Second World War.

The story of European colonialism is replete with massacres and tragedies, many of which remain hidden in history and unacknowledged. The European colonisers who claimed to be representatives of a culture of humanism have been guilty of worse crimes against humanity.

It would have been better if Macron had apologised straightaway for the 1944 massacre instead of waiting for the Senegalese Committee for the Restoration of the Facts to finalise its report.

There is also the unfortunate fact that the barely hidden motive behind Macron’s letter is the desperate bid by France to regain its influence in the region. African countries are more assertive than ever, and they are unlikely to yield to pressure from former colonial powers. Algeria which had fought a long and bloody battle with France has left many scars in the French memory. France has to tread with greater sensitivity to re-establish its relations with the African countries. And France must also resist the temptation of playing power games in Africa.