Bowing to the weight of history, French President Emmanuel Macron has formally admitted his nation’s culpability for a brutal war against independence movements in Cameroon. The admission, which covers decades of violence, marks a pivotal moment in France’s long and often painful relationship with its former African colonies.
The French president’s letter to his Cameroonian counterpart, Paul Biya, was a direct consequence of a joint historical commission’s findings. The commission’s report detailed a war from 1945 to 1971, where French forces not only suppressed nationalists during the colonial period but also supported a repressive regime after Cameroon’s independence, leading to tens of thousands of deaths.
For years, the official French narrative was one of relative silence, conveniently omitting the violent realities of its imperial project. This acknowledgment signals a crack in that facade, forced open by persistent historians and activists who refused to let the history be forgotten.
While the admission of culpability is significant, it is not the final chapter. The lack of a formal apology or a commitment to reparations leaves many feeling that France has acknowledged its sin but is unwilling to fully atone for it. The focus now shifts to whether this verbal recognition will translate into tangible justice.