France makes landmark gesture over WWII massacre of African troops

France's President Emmanuel Macron reacts as he waits to greet Mongolia's President upon his arrival at the Elysee Presidential Palace ahead of their meeting in Paris on July 27, 2024. [AFP]

France has made a key gesture of remembrance for the dozens of African troops shot dead on French army orders in Senegal during World War II, a government official said Sunday, as Paris seeks to ease tensions with former colonies over historical memory.

Six of the African soldiers -- four from Senegal, one from Ivory Coast and one from what is now Burkina Faso -- have been posthumously honoured for having "died for France" ("morts pour la France").

An official from France's veterans and remembrance ministry told AFP that the decision had been taken ahead of the 80th anniversary of the events in Thiaroye in Senegal in 1944.

It was in line with the "desire of President Emmanuel Macron to look history in the face", added the official. "It is now time to look at this history, our history, as it was."

The decision was taken on June 18 just days before the first meeting in Paris between Macron and the new Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

Macron has during his seven years in power sought to address the most painful historical scars over France's relationship with Africa, notably relating to the 1954-1962 Algerian War of Independence and the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi minority in Rwanda.

However critics have often said that the gestures, while welcome, do not go far enough and often stop short of a full apology.

The official described the decision concerning the six African soldiers as an initial one which would be followed up once the "exact identity of the other victims has been established".

Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko reacted sharply to the news.

In a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, he said this "tragic story" was not France's to tell alone.

It was not up to Paris to determine how many Africans were "betrayed and murdered" after having fought to save France, nor what reparations they deserved, he wrote.

He signed the post as leader of his party, Pastef, and not as head of the government.

'Big step'

Colonial troops and French gendarmes had on the orders of French army officers shot at the African troops on the morning of December 1, 1944 at the military camp of Thiaroye outside the Senegalese capital Dakar.

The soldiers, repatriated after being held as prisoners of war in Germany, had been demanding their back pay.

According to the report drawn up by the French authorities at the time, at least 35 soldiers died on the spot or from their injuries.

The figure remains disputed, with some historians estimating the toll to be much higher. The place of burial of the soldiers is also a matter of debate.

Ending years of denial, former president Francois Hollande 10 years ago became the first French leader to pay tribute to the massacred soldiers.

African troops from then French colonies played key roles in modern wars including World War I, World War II and the wars of independence of French colonies.

Aissata Seck, head of an association that seeks to keep alive the memory of the African "tirailleurs" who fought for France, praised the move as "a big step".

She said it was now "important" to carry out digging work at the burial grounds "to have the real number of victims".