Emmanuel Macron admitted that French soldiers tortured and killed a well-known Algerian lawyer and activist during the country’s war of independence.
Ali Boumendjel, 37, died after falling from a sixth-floor window in 1957 during the Battle of Algiers. So far, his death has been recorded as suicide.
“In the center of the Battle of Algiers, he was arrested by the French army, hidden, tortured and murdered on March 23, 1957,” said the Elysée in a statement.
In 2000, Paul Aussaresses, the former head of French intelligence in the Algerian capital, Algiers, confessed to having ordered the assassination of Boumendjel.
“Paul Aussaresses himself admitted that he ordered one of his subordinates to kill him and disguise the crime of suicide,” the statement continued.
“Ali Boumendjel did not kill himself. He was tortured and then killed. “
Macron made the admission “on behalf of France” when he met Boumendjel’s grandchildren. It comes after a truth commission led by historian Benjamin Stora recommended measures to shed light on France’s colonial past.
The Stora report commissioned by the government was rejected by the Algerian government as “not objective” and “did not live up to expectations”.
Eliseu also announced that he will continue to encourage historians to deepen the archives “to give all the families of the disappeared, on both sides of the Mediterranean, the means to know the truth”.
France has a large Algerian diaspora, but has been slow to recognize the atrocities committed during the country’s struggle for independence. For decades, like the UK’s Troubles in Northern Ireland, the French referred euphemistically to “Algerian events”.
On a visit to the North African country during his successful 2017 election campaign, Macron caused a storm by declaring colonization “a crime against humanity”.
“There is an appropriate phrase that is said about Algeria: France has established human rights in Algeria. You simply forgot to obey them, ”he said at the time.
Although he rejected calls for France to officially apologize for the occupation of Algeria or the war, the president indicated that admitting Boumendjel’s murder will not be an isolated mea culpa.
“No crime, no atrocity committed by anyone during the Algerian war can be excused or kept secret,” said the president’s office. “This work will be extended and deepened in the coming months, so that we can move towards peace and reconciliation.”
Last month, Boumendjel’s niece, Fadéla Boumendjel-Chitour, said the French state’s lie about her uncle’s death was devastating for the family.
The Battle of Algiers was a guerrilla campaign by the National Liberation Front of Algeria (FLN) against the colonial and military administration of the French country between 1956 and 1957.
After a series of FLN bombings, French forces carried out mass repression and arrests that resulted in torture, disappearances and summary executions. The French won the battle, but the war continued until 1962, when Algeria became independent.