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Macron Acknowl edged French Massacre

Prior to the end of his Africa tour, French President Emmanuel Macron conceded France’s responsibility to the 1944 killing of West African soldiers by French troops as a ‘massacre’. In a letter addressed to the Senegalese authorities, he expressed his condolences and recognized the event as a tragedy.

This acknowledgment, which comes as France’s influence is waning in its former West African colonies, marks a significant shift in the country’s approach to its colonial past. Macron’s gesture comes on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Thiaroye massacre, a massacre of between 35 and 400 West African soldiers who fought for France in World War II.

This event, which the French initially portrayed as a mutiny over unpaid wages, has long been a point of tension between Senegal and its former colonizer. Macron’s recognition of the massacre as a tragedy shows a willingness to confront the dark chapters of France’s colonial history in West Africa

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