France’s disavowal of its heinous colonial crimes poisons relations with its victims

The French historians Pascal Blanchard and Benjamin Stora raised the alarm about France’s relations with its former colonies and how to free them from the repercussions of the colonial past, which still refuses to submit to the demands of the peoples and governments of the countries affected by the brutal practices of occupation.
The contribution of the two historians led to an open discussion on the colonial phenomenon, in which Benjamin Stora and Pascal Blanchard spoke about the situation of France, which ruled most of the countries of the African continent with the force of iron and fire, and described the legacy of this practice as “scars” that are still wide open. This would increase the level of poisoning of relations between Paris and the peoples and countries that were victims of its occupation for many decades, often more than a century, as in the case of Algeria.
Benjamin Stora, who heads the joint Algerian-French committee to discuss the issue of memory and pacification of its wars on the French side, published on his account on the social networking site, Facebook, a link to an article summarizing the discussion in which he took part, along with historian Pascal Blanchard, and in which it was stated, among other things: “More than sixty years after independence, the resentment stemming from French colonialism is still difficult. Apologies, reparations, the end of “former African France” (Françafrique): Demands are coming from all sides. How long will France be able to meet these demands with silence? .
According to historians, the French authorities’ continued disregard for the demands of their African victims will lead to the poisoning of relations between the former colonial power and its former possessions. Pascal Blanchard asserts that “the situation in Africa crystallizes the tensions surrounding the colonial legacy.
He cites the example of Algeria, along with Mali and Burkina Faso, and notes that “the younger African generations have become aware of the historical facts. They are loudly demanding the truth and reparations” from the French state as the heir of colonial France.
Historian Benjamin Stora believes that the winds of rebellion are blowing across the continent, fanning the flames of long-submerged anger. “Demands are pouring in from all sides: the return of looted property, official apologies, an end to the ambiguous administration inherited from ‘former Françafrique’… These issues are no longer just stories, but rather inputs into the diplomatic sphere,” says Stora.
Despite the risk that Paris will continue to use a method of silence, Pascal Blanchard believes that the French political elites, on the right and on the left, combine the concerns of the peoples and countries that are victims of French colonialism with some ideological dimensions, such as the presentation of the “apology” as “repentance”. However, the seriousness of this discussion has not led Paris to review its positions and, in some cases, to correct them.
This is the case with Algeria. When the Algerian authorities focused their demands on the need for France to acknowledge its colonial crimes in Algeria and then offer an apology, those who rejected these demands rose up and tried to give a religious character to the concept of apology, such as “repentance,” a concept that did not even enter the imagination of the Algerians. Because they demanded an apology and not a remorse or a repentance, which was seen as an attempt by Paris to deny this demand, to which France itself responded with former colonies, such as the Republic of Madagascar, and France also forced Nazi Germany to apologize to the French state for its occupation during the Second World War, which makes the justification presented by the French authorities and their political and historical elites only weak and feeble justifications.