Macron breaks a memory taboo by recognizing the “war” waged by France in Cameroon during decolonization

President Emmanuel Macron has officially acknowledged that France waged "a war" in Cameroon against insurrectionist movements before and after independence in 1960, a word previously absent from official speeches, signaling once again his desire to introduce more transparency into French colonial history.

"It is up to me today to assume France's role and responsibility in these events," the head of state stressed in a letter to his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya made public on Tuesday, thus marking a turning point in memory between the two countries.

Emmanuel Macron endorses the conclusions of a historians' report submitted to him in January, which "clearly showed that a war took place in Cameroon, during which the colonial authorities and the French army exercised repressive violence of multiple kinds."

Furthermore, adds Emmanuel Macron, "the war continued beyond 1960 with France's support for the actions carried out by the independent Cameroonian authorities."

In July 2022, the French President announced in Cameroon the launch of work by a joint Franco-Cameroonian commission aimed at shedding light on France's struggle against independence and opposition movements in Cameroon between 1945 and 1971.

The report of this commission, chaired by historian Karine Ramondy, is part of President Macron's memorial policy towards Africa, following similar reports on Rwanda and Algeria, other dark pages in French policy in Africa.

The report on Cameroon and the research intended to extend it "will allow us to continue building the future together, to strengthen the close relationship that unites France and Cameroon, with its human links between our civil societies and our youth," Emmanuel Macron called for.

"It's good, because he acknowledges" what happened, reacted Mathieu Njassep, president of the Association of Veterans of Cameroon (Asvecam), which brings together former independence fighters, ensuring, however, that he will only be satisfied if France pays reparations. A subject that is not addressed in his letter by the tenant of the Élysée.

"France has committed many crimes in Cameroon. It can pay reparations. It destroyed villages, roads, so many things... There are many things it must do," explained the former Cameroonian fighter.

Paul Biya, 92, announced in July that he would seek an eighth term in the presidential election scheduled for October 12. The Constitutional Council, for its part, rejected the candidacy of his main opponent, Maurice Kamto, in early August.

The report, which runs over a thousand pages, examines the slide from repression by the French colonial authorities to a full-blown "war." Taking place in the south and west of the country between 1956 and 1961, it likely claimed "tens of thousands of victims," according to historians.

The report emphasizes that "formal independence (of Cameroon in January 1960) does not constitute a clear break with the colonial period." Ahmadou Ahidjo, Prime Minister and then President in 1960, established "an autocratic and authoritarian regime with the support of the French authorities, represented by advisers and administrators, who gave their carte blanche to the repressive measures adopted," according to historians.

Current President Paul Biya was a close collaborator of Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, until becoming Prime Minister in 1975, before becoming President in 1982.

Emmanuel Macron, who suggested the creation of a dedicated working group between Cameroon and France, "committed to ensuring that French archives are made easily accessible to allow research work to continue."

He mentions "certain specific episodes of this war, such as that of Ekité on December 31, 1956, which caused many victims, or the death during military operations carried out under French command of the four independence leaders Isaac Nyobè Pandjock (June 17, 1958), Ruben Um Nyobè (September 13, 1958), Paul Momo (November 17, 1960) and Jérémie Ndéléné (November 24, 1960)."

On the other hand, concerning the assassination of the opposition leader Félix-Roland Moumié in Geneva on November 3, 1960, "the absence of sufficient evidence in the French archives and the dismissal of the case by the Swiss courts in 1980 have apparently not allowed any new light to be shed on the responsibilities" for his death, Macron believes.