FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron recognised on Thursday for the first time the killing of west African soldiers by the French army in 1944 as a massacre.
The long-awaited admission from France came in a letter addressed to the Senegalese authorities and on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the World War II killings in Thiaroye — a fishing village on the outskirts of the Senegalese capital Dakar.
It also comes as France’s influence is declining across Africa, with Paris being ousted from its former colonies.
The latest to step away from French influence is Chad, which on Thursday decided to end a defence co-operation agreement with its former colonial ruler.
Up to 400 West African soldiers who fought for the French army in the Battle of France in 1940 were killed on December 1 1944 by French soldiers.
The West Africans were members of the unit called Tirailleurs Senegalais, a corps of colonial infantry in the French army.
According to historians, there were disputes over unpaid wages in the days before the massacre but on December 1, French troops turned on the West African soldiers, mostly unarmed, and shot and killed them.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said President Macron’s step should “open the door” so that the “whole truth about this painful event of Thiaroye” can finally come out.
“We have long sought closure on this story and we believe that, this time, France’s commitment will be full, frank and collaborative,” he added.
Mr Macon’s letter to the Senegalese said: “France must recognise that on that day, the confrontation between soldiers and riflemen who demanded their full legitimate wages be paid triggered a chain of events that resulted in a massacre.
“It is also important to establish, as far as possible, the causes and facts that led to this tragedy.”
Meanwhile Chad’s government said it was ending a defence co-operation agreement with France in order to redefine the nation’s sovereignty from its former colonial ruler.
The decision marks a historic turning point since the central African nation gained independence more than six decades ago, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah said on Thursday.
There was no immediate response from France.
Chad was one of the last countries in the region where the French maintained a large military presence, having been ousted in recent years from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
