Macron Awards Algerian Veterans

French President Emmanuel Macron honored more than 20 Algerians who fought for the French during Algeria’s eight-year War of Independence on September 28. The undertaking was meant as a commemoration of the hardships these Algerians endured.

Between 1954 and 1962, the Algerian Liberation Front fought brutally for independence, primarily through guerrilla warfare, torture, and maquis fighting. After a peace accord granted the Algerians independence on March 18, 1962, only a small group of Algerians were permitted to enter France, consisting of approximately 60,000 French loyalists.

While in France, these loyalists were excluded from society. In particular, the Algerians faced harsh discrimination and poverty, and they were put into camps by the French government. The rest of the Algerian loyalists primarily stayed in Algeria, where they faced harsh discrimination. Perceived as traitors, a high percentage of them were murdered.

Macron also awarded six Algerian officials the Legion d’Honneur, which is France’s highest honor.

Though these awards are admirable, they are incapable of relieving most of the damage. These soldiers are now old, with the youngest recipient being 80 years old. While they are now formally recognized as true heroes of France, they suffered persecution for most of their lives.

Presidents on both sides of the political spectrum have acknowledged and attempted to make amends for the past. In 2002, then-President Jacques Chirac inaugurated a memorial near the Eiffel Tower dedicated to those who fought for France during the Algerian conflict. He also initiated an annual ceremony for the Algerian fighters every September.

In 2016, then-President Francois Hollande honored these Algerians as well. “I recognize the responsibility of French governments in abandoning the harkis, the massacres of those remaining in Algeria and the inhuman conditions of those transferred to France,” said Hollande.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy sparked protests in 2017 after describing the French colonization of Algeria as a true “crime against humanity.” This year, Macron began a 40-million-euro fund specifically to help those 8,000 Algerian soldiers and their hundreds of thousands descendants who are in France today.

In Algeria, these Algerian French loyalists are called “harkis,” a derogatory term perpetuated by those who perceived them as traitors to their native land. All in all, the harkis numbered some 200,000 forces. The true number of harkis who died during the conflict remains a mystery, for many bodies could not be identified.

The National Liberation Front estimates that the war left some 1.5 million dead, though French officials have reported significantly lower estimates.