France must release Algerian war archives early, says Elysee Palace

The Elysee Palace said that French President Emmanuel Macron made the decision to introduce a new procedure that will speed up the process of declassifying defense documents until 1970.

Elisha said Macron was “determined to promote respect for historical truth”. The new rule arrives from March 11.

“This decision will significantly shorten the waiting times for the disqualification procedure, including [for] documents related to the Algerian war, “said the Elysee statement.

France sends skulls of 24 independence fighters back to Algeria

France, under Macron, sought to account for its past. The president had previously called colonialism “a serious error and failure of the republic” in a speech in Ivory Coast in late 2019.

In July, the country returned the skulls of 24 Algerian resistance fighters who died during opposition to French occupation in the 19th century.

The debate on the subject in France has recently rekindled after historian Benjamin Stora’s government commissioned a report on the “reconciliation of memories” between the two countries.

“Based on this effort, President Macron will establish a number of concrete initiatives aimed at moving forward on the path to recognizing all memories and easing tensions,” said an Elysee spokesman in January after the report was released.

The statement added: “The president’s wish is that these initiatives will allow our country to look clearly at the injuries of the past, bring about a reconciliation of long-term memories and focus on young people in France and Algeria for education and the transmission of memoirs “.

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