France has officially acknowledged its part in a long-buried war in Cameroon, admitting to decades of violent repression against the nation’s independence movements. In a formal letter to the Cameroonian president, Emmanuel Macron accepted his country’s responsibility for the conflict that raged from 1945 to 1971 and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.
The admission follows the work of a joint historical commission, whose exhaustive report detailed the extent of the violence. It found that French colonial authorities and military forces engaged in a brutal war and continued to support a repressive Cameroonian government even after independence in 1960. The assassination of nationalist hero Ruben Um Nyobè was one of the many crimes committed during this period.
For many years, this violent history was largely erased from France’s official narrative of its colonial past. The recent acknowledgment is seen as a major victory for historians and activists who have fought to bring the truth to light. It also comes at a time when France is facing significant pushback and anti-colonial sentiment in its former African territories.
Despite the landmark acknowledgment, the French government has not issued an apology or proposed reparations. Cameroonian singer and commission co-head Blick Bassy stated that the process is far from over. He called for urgent actions such as locating mass graves, addressing historical land disputes, and organizing national mourning to properly honor the victims.