Khadijah Shehu Abdulkareem
French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged that France used “repressive violence” in Cameroon during the 1950s, as the Central African country fought for independence from colonial rule.
In a letter sent last month to Cameroonian President Paul Biya — and made public on Tuesday — Macron admitted the actions of French colonial troops, describing them as part of a brutal campaign that continued even after Cameroon gained independence in 1960.
The admission follows a 2022 official report commissioned by France, which revealed that French forces carried out mass forced displacements, set up internment camps, and supported brutal militias to crush independence movements. The report was prepared by a 14-member team of French and Cameroonian historians, covering the period from 1945 to 1971.
“The historians made it very clear that there was a war in Cameroon, during which the colonial authorities and the French army carried out repressive violence of several kinds that continued after 1960,” Macron wrote. “It is incumbent on me today to accept France’s role and responsibility in these events.”
Macron also acknowledged France’s role in the deaths of key Cameroonian leaders — Ruben Um Nyobe, Paul Momo, Isaac Nyobe Pandjock, and Jeremie Ndelene — who were killed in French-commanded operations between 1958 and 1960.
According to the report, France’s repressive measures during the conflict claimed “tens of thousands of lives.”
Cameroon was placed under French rule after World War I, when Germany lost control of its colonies. Britain controlled the remaining parts of the territory. The push for independence began during World War II, but was met with violent repression from France.
The findings are part of Macron’s broader effort to confront France’s colonial past. Similar steps have been taken regarding France’s role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the Algerian war of independence. However, Macron has ruled out issuing an official apology for abuses in Algeria.