French President Emmanuel Macron has formally acknowledged the violent repression carried out by France’s colonial authorities and military during Cameroon’s struggle for independence, following the release of a joint Cameroonian-French historical report on the 1945–1971 period.
In a letter to President Paul Biya made public on Tuesday, Macron said the findings made clear “a war had taken place in Cameroon, during which the colonial authorities and the French army exercised repressive violence of several kinds in certain regions of the country.” He added, “It is up to me today to assume the role and responsibility of France in these events,” but stopped short of issuing a formal apology.
The report, citing archival records, said French forces killed tens of thousands of people between 1956 and 1961, forced hundreds of thousands into internment camps, and backed militias to suppress the independence movement. It named four key independence figures killed during French-led operations, including Ruben Um Nyobe, leader of the anti-colonial Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC).
Commissioned during Macron’s 2022 visit to Yaoundé under pressure from Cameroonian voices demanding recognition and reparations, the inquiry was conducted by historians from both countries. Macron said he was willing to promote further research, make the findings accessible to academic institutions, and encourage dialogue on the shared history.
While Macron did not address reparations, the issue is expected to remain central in Cameroon’s domestic debate.
The admission is part of Macron’s broader push to confront France’s colonial past. In recent years, he has acknowledged French responsibility in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, admitted the 1944 massacre of West African troops in Senegal, and pledged greater transparency in documenting historical injustices.
