French President Emmanuel Macron recently admitted that France used harsh force in Cameroon during the 1950s when the country was fighting for its freedom.
This statement was made in a letter to Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, where Macron recognised the actions of French colonial troops.
The letter, shared by Macron’s office, comes when France’s influence in its old African colonies is increasingly being questioned.
n official report, ordered by France in 2022, detailed how French forces displaced many Cameroonians, put them in camps, and supported brutal militias to crush Cameroon’s desire for independence.
French Influence After Independence
An in-depth study by a team of French and Cameroonian historians examined France’s actions in Cameroon from 1945 to 1971. It showed that France’s military continued to use heavy-handed tactics even after Cameroon gained independence in 1960.
Macron wrote, “The historians of the commission made it very clear that there was a war in Cameroon, during which the colonial authorities and the French army carried out repressive violence of several kinds that continued after 1960.”
Macron also admitted France’s part in the deaths of notable Cameroonian leaders like Ruben Um Nyobe, Paul Momo, Isaac Nyobe Pandjock, and Jeremie Ndelene, who were all killed between 1958 and 1960 during French-led military operations.
He said that France’s efforts to stop Cameroon’s independence struggle resulted in “tens of thousands of lives” being lost.
Reflecting on France’s Colonial Past
Most of Cameroon fell under French rule after World War I when Germany, the previous ruler, lost the war. The rest was colonized by Britain. Cameroon’s push for independence began during World War II, and France responded with force and repression.
Macron is pushing France to deal with its colonial past, though some critics think he’s not doing enough. A 2021 report blamed France for having significant responsibility in the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
Another 2020 report on France’s role in Algeria’s independence war called for a “truth commission” and more initiatives.
However, Macron has refused to officially apologise for what the French military did in Algeria.
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