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France acknowledges role in Cameroon’s struggle for independence
Macron admits France's military actions caused tens of thousands of deaths and mass displacement during Cameroon's independence struggle, based on a joint historical report by French and Cameroonian historians.
- On August 12, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron publicly recognized in a letter that France engaged in a conflict involving harsh repression in Cameroon around the time of the country's independence in 1960.
- This admission followed a 14-member joint French-Cameroonian commission’s investigation, launched by Macron in 2022, which examined France’s role between 1945 and 1971 using archives, eyewitness accounts, and field surveys.
- The commission report documented France’s use of mass forced displacements, internment camps detaining hundreds of thousands, and support for brutal militias to suppress Cameroon’s independence struggle that began in the 1950s.
- Macron expressed that he must personally take on France’s duty regarding these events but did not mention reparations, while Mathieu Njassep, leader of Cameroonian veterans, stated that France should provide compensation.
- The acknowledgment signals France's intent to facilitate archive access and foster further research, suggesting this issue will remain a significant topic in Franco-Cameroonian relations going forward.
51 Articles
51 Articles
The French president, in a letter to his counterpart Paul Biya, assumes "the responsibility of France" in this murderous and forgotten conflict.
Emmanuel Macron acknowledged, after having endorsed the conclusions of a report by historians that had been given to him in January, that a "war had taken place in Cameroon". An episode still largely unknown, in which...
Macron admits France waged a repressive war in Cameroon
France waged a "war" in Cameroon marked by "repressive violence" during and after the African country's decolonisation in the late 1950s, President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged in a letter published Tuesday. The letter, sent to his Cameroonian counterpart last month, is the latest example of France's efforts under Macron to come to terms with its often-bloody colonial history. The admission follows an official report, published in January, which…
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