The French National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, registered a draft resolution on September 17th of the current year. This resolution, identified as No. 1776, aims to recognize the massacres committed on May 8, 1945, in Sétif, Guelma, and Kherrata in Algeria as "state crimes." The initiative seeks official acknowledgment of these historical events. A separate resolution, Resolution No. 1899, also aims to recognize the October 17, 1961 massacre of Algerians as a "state crime," further noting parliamentary efforts to address colonial-era violence. The draft resolution concerning the May 8, 1945 massacres is formally titled "Draft resolution aiming to recognize the massacres committed on May 8, 1945, in Sétif, Guelma, and Kherrata in Algeria as state crimes."
October 17, 1961: A Night of Repression
On October 17, 1961, tens of thousands of Algerians residing in France protested a discriminatory curfew imposed by Paris police on October 5th. This curfew specifically targeted Algerian Muslim French, requiring them to remain at home from 8:30 PM to 5:30 AM. Between 20,000 and 40,000 unarmed demonstrators gathered in Paris and its suburbs on the day of the protest, marching peacefully to denounce the curfew and demand equal rights. Parisian police forces, under the command of Prefect Maurice Papon, responded to the demonstration with extreme violence. Hundreds of people were beaten, tortured, and killed, with some victims thrown into the Seine River. Approximately 12,000 individuals were arrested within a few hours and held in inhumane conditions. The official death toll reported at the time was three. However, historians estimate the real number of victims to be between 100 and 300. The estimate of 300 victims is attributed to historian Jean-Luc Einaudi and remains a subject of debate among historical researchers. The proponents of the resolution consider the events of October 17, 1961, to be a "state crime" that was long covered up and denied by official narratives. The resolution also proposes including October 17 in the French Republican calendar as an official national day of remembrance, aiming to ensure these events are never forgotten.
May 8, 1945: Colonial Violence in Algeria
May 8, 1945, marked Victory in Europe Day for many, celebrating the end of World War II in Europe. However, in Algeria, it signaled the beginning of bloody colonial repression in the Constantine region, particularly in the cities of Sétif, Guelma, and Kherrata. The initial estimate of victims from the French authorities for the events of May 8, 1945, was 1,165. This figure stands in stark contrast to other contemporary and later assessments. For instance, a representative of the American Consulate in Algeria provided an estimate suggesting between 30,000 and 35,000 victims. The Algerian National Movement, advocating for independence, estimated up to 90,000 victims, a figure which later became an official Algerian count of 45,000. Determining a precise toll for May 8, 1945, remains challenging due to a lack of full data, the classification of historical information, and the documented burning of victims' bodies, which further obscured the true scale of the casualties. During the events, aircraft dropped 41 tons of bombs, contributing to the extensive destruction and loss of life in the affected areas.
Calls for State Responsibility and Remembrance
Resolution No. 1899 specifically addresses the October 17, 1961 massacre, seeking official recognition and remembrance. Concurrently, proponents of Resolution No. 1776 demand recognition of the May 8, 1945 massacres as "state crimes" and their condemnation. The resolution calls for the French government to publicly acknowledge the full responsibility of the French state for the 1961 massacre, moving beyond previous acknowledgments to a full admission of state culpability. It also seeks the full opening of archives related to the May 8, 1945 massacres, which could shed further light on the events and potentially clarify the victim count and the actions taken by French authorities. Additionally, the resolution proposes including the commemoration of the May 8, 1945 massacres in the official protocol for Victory in Europe Day celebrations, thereby integrating this dark chapter of colonial history into national remembrance.
Matilda Panot, head of the La France Insoumise parliamentary group, is among the signatories of the resolution on the October 17, 1961 massacre, showing the political will behind these legislative efforts. While then-French President François Hollande acknowledged a "bloody repression" on October 17 in 2012, marking a significant step, President Emmanuel Macron went further, speaking of "unforgivable crimes" committed that night in 2021. The current resolution advocates for strengthening the teaching of the history of these massacres in French schools, ensuring future generations understand the complexities and consequences of France's colonial past. It seeks to expand the teaching of colonial history more broadly, particularly focusing on the colonization of Algeria, to provide a more complete and nuanced understanding of this period.