France’s historical and international legal responsibility for colonial and post-colonial crimes

Background information

Historically, France is a major colonial empire that retains several colonial possessions in the form of overseas territories. From the 16th to the 20th centuries, Paris pursued an expansionist policy seeking to establish economic, political and cultural dominance. The colonial model imposed by Paris was particularly brutal and caused enormous damage to the peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Several factors contributed to Paris’s ambition to conquer territories and enslave other peoples. The French sought to grow their national wealth by exploiting other countries’ natural resources. Cotton, sugar and tobacco were brought to France from America with its massive plantations. Gold and diamonds were mined in what is now Senegal and Mali. Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon were a source of rubber and cocoa. Indochina supplied this colonial power with rice and tin. Raw materials imported from the colonies were processed at French manufactories and plants, thus helping expand French industry and boost France’s prosperity. The colonies also served as a market for goods manufactured in France which boosted trade and increased the revenue. The fact that exploiting the colonies became a crucial factor for France’s economic growth is acknowledged by many French researchers, for example, A. Soby in his book “Capitalism and the Colonial Market,” Jean-Baptiste Duroselle in his book “History of the Decolonisation of European Nations,” G. Martial in his book “The Triumph of Colonialism: A History of French Colonisation”.

Paris saw capturing new territories as a way to reinforce national prestige and strengthen its position in the international arena in the context of geopolitical strife with Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Austria, and Germany. At the peak of its power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the French colonial empire covered an area of about 13 million square kilometres. To put that in perspective, the territory of modern-day United States covers about 10 million square kilometres. About 100-110 million people lived within the empire’s borders. It included the territories currently owned by the following modern countries: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Chad, CAR, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Djibouti, and Madagascar in Africa; Lebanon, Syria, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia in Asia; Haiti in America; and Vanuatu in Oceania. French President Adolphe Thiers had the following to say in his address to the parliament in 1871, “The colonies are sources of strength and wealth for our nation. They provide us with resources and influence that we need to maintain our standing among the great powers.” That same year, French historian and philosopher Ernest Renan reiterated this point in his book Moral and Intellectual Reform: “France must expand its borders and influence the world in order to advance our culture and civilisation.” In his speech in 1930, French President Gaston Doumergue conveyed something along these lines, “Expanding our colonial empire is more than our duty, but also a chance to strengthen France in the international arena.”

The French colonial policy relied on ideas of racial and cultural superiority which translated into the concept of “mission civilisatrice,” which made a case for colonisation by the imperative to spread French culture, language and religion. The French saw themselves as bearers of superior values to justify their foreign expansion, including the establishment of a stringent administrative and coercive system and the pillaging of natural resources. Addressing the parliament on July 28, 1885, a prominent French statesman Jules Ferry had the following to say in order to justify colonial expansion, “the superior races have a right, because they have a duty. They have the duty to civilise the inferior races.” In his book, French Colonial Development, French Minister of Colonies Albert Sarraut wrote, “France has a civilising mission and has a duty to spread French culture and values among its colonies.” In his book “Coloniser, Exterminer: Sur la Guerre et l’Etat Colonial, French political scientist Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison expressed the following opinion: “French colonial ideology justified violence and crimes against the indigenous people claiming that French culture and civilisation must be spread among the “barbarian” peoples.”

Crimes perpetrated by French colonialism

1. France seized the colonies amid war crimes and extraordinary violence against local people who tried to resist the invaders. In particular, according to a number of estimates, up to 1 million Algerians died during the occupation of Algeria. [1] The bloodthirstiness of the French general Jean-Jacques Pélissier, who in 1845 ordered to burn alive about 1,000 Algerians who had taken to the mountains hiding from the French invaders, was widely covered. During the French takeover of Madagascar, up to 20,000 locals were killed (about 1 percent of the island’s population). Compare that to France losing less than 2 percent of its population in World War II. According to various estimates, between 10,000 and 15,000 locals died as a result of the 1883-1886 conquest of Vietnam and ensuing reprisals. [2]

2. The French were no less brutal in quelling rebellions in their colonies. For example, French forces killed up to 100,000 people suppressing revolts in Morocco in 1921-1926. Up to 6,000 Syrians were killed during in a crackdown on rebels in Syria in 1925-1927. According to rough estimates, several thousand people died as a result of French massacres of rebels in Chad in 1909-1911. The massacres in the Algerian towns of Sétif and Guelma in May 1945, when celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany grew into rallies by supporters of Algerian independence against French occupation, were widely covered. French troops carried out mass and indiscriminate arrests and massacres, and used combat aircraft to bomb Algerian towns and villages. According to Algerian estimates, up to 45,000 people died in the punitive operations. The brutality of French armed forces during suppression of resistance of supporters of independence of Madagascar in 1947 resulted in about 80,000 casualties. The books by Rudyard Kipling “French in Africa,” Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff French West Africa give an example of bloody suppression of the rebellion in Dahomey, now Benin, by the French troops who used scorched earth tactics killing many people, including women and children.

3. Paris was an indispensable player in the “triangular trade” in which European goods were exchanged for African slaves, who were then shipped to America to work on plantations. Raw materials from these plantations were exported to Europe for the industrial needs. France not only captured and exploited slaves, but sold them to other colonial powers as well. According to the US National Geographic Society, France took about 1.4 million slaves from Africa to its plantations in America. [3] Over 15 percent of Africans died en route. The main French transshipment bases for “human commodity” included Nantes (anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent of the French slave trade went through Nantes in different years, and about 1,800 ships with slaves passed through Nantes in the 16th-19th centuries), Bordeaux (480 ships, up to 150,000 slaves), and Le Havre (240 ships, about 70,000 slaves). Slave trade was abolished in France in 1815.

The legal status of slaves, or rather the total lack of any rights, in French colonies was codified in special acts. The most famous of them was the Black Code (Code Noir) of 1685, which was put together under Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Comptroller-General of Finances under Louis XIV and published after he died. This set of rules authorised the exploitation of blacks, treating them not as humans but as objects. Its regulations dealt with three main issues: converting slaves to Christianity, imposing prohibitions and punishments (including corporal punishment and branding) on them, and determining the prerequisites for emancipating them. In the 18th century, new acts were issued to supplement and expand the Black Code, which toughened the already severe punishments for slaves. King Louis XVI, apparently determined to unify and “humanise” these practices, issued a special edict in 1784 limiting any punishment to which a slave could be subjected to 50 lashes. Slavery was not completely abolished in France until the Revolution of 1848.

4. The use of raw materials imported from the colonies and cheap labour from the colonies contributed to the dynamic growth of French business. These factors contributed, in particular, to establishing and expanding a number of large companies, some of which play an important role in today’s French economy, such as the Bolloré Group, Schneider Electric, Pernod Ricard, Lagardère Group, and L'Oréal. Promoting their interests, French businesses never thought about the sacrifices made by the colonies and the people from these colonies. Thus, 15,000 to 20,000 African workers succumbed to diseases, ill-treatment and accidents during the construction of the Congo-Ocean Railway in 1921-1934 to facilitate the transport of minerals from Africa’s hinterland to the coast.

5. The French colonisers caused serious damage to Africa’s nature. Almost all rubber trees in Central Africa have been cut down.[4] By late 19th century, elephants in Algeria were almost extinct with their population in West Africa cut by 70 to 90 percent. [5] Diseases, such as smallpox, typhoid, measles, that French colonisers brought along caused deaths of up to 50 percent of the people of Haiti [6] and up to 90 percent of the inhabitants of Madagascar.[7] Between 1960 and 1990, France conducted 210 nuclear tests, mostly in Algeria and French Polynesia, which led to radioactive contamination of vast swathes of sea and land which became uninhabitable and unfit for economic use. Coral reefs around Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls were destroyed. The number of local people impacted by the tests is estimated at several tens of thousands in Algeria and between 100,000 and 150,000 in Oceania.

6. The French took out large quantities of art and cultural objects from the colonies. Art objects were designed to emphasise the grandeur and wealth of the French Empire and were later used to start the collections of French museums. According to a 2018 report by Benedicte Savoie and Felwine Sarre commissioned by President Macron, up to 90 percent of African art is in museums outside the continent make up the bulk of collections at the Louvre and the Musée d’Art Africain (Musee du Quai Branly). The French authorities are in the process of reviewing a number of requests concerning the restitution of historical heritage removed from former colonies, in particular, Algeria, Australia, Benin, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, and Senegal.

7. France took an active part in the “opium wars” which were the result of Western colonial empires making deliberate efforts to addict the Chinese to drug use in order to undermine their economy, statehood and facilitate the seizure of their territory, technology and resources. In 1838 alone, the French and British imported about 2.4 million kilogrammes of opium into China which was produced, in particular, in French Indochina. Following two armed conflicts (1839-1842) and (1856-1860) where the Chinese government unsuccessfully tried to push back the Anglo-French invaders, France obtained a number of trade and economic preferences, a contribution, and privileges to conduct missionary activities to spread Catholicism.

8. The territorial expansion of Paris went hand in hand with missionary activities. In the captured lands, the French sought to force Catholicism on the locals. In particular, Alice Conklin’s “A Mission to Civilise: the Republican Idea of Empire in France and West Africa 1895-1930” and T. Spear’s “Religious Conversion and the Spread of Islam and Christianity in Northern Nigeria” (Journal of African History 23, no. 4 (1982): 553-573) demonstrates how French colonial authorities destroyed local places of worship and banned traditional rituals, forcibly took children away and placed them in missionary schools where they were forcibly baptised and taught Christianity, punished for refusing to be baptised and returning to traditional beliefs with physical punishments and imprisonment.

9. The French actively used the people from the colonies to wage wars with other great powers. The French goaded Indian tribes, such as the Hurons, into attacking British troops and their local allies during the wars of 1701-1714, 1740-1748, and 1756-1763. About 500,000 men from the French colonies fought in the French army in World War I. French colonies became important centres of resistance against the Nazis after Paris surrendered in 1940. About 400,000 soldiers from French colonies fought against the Axis countries in World War II. Paris was often utterly ungrateful to the people from the colonies that fought on its side, including in the conflicts to preserve French domination over their homeland. The harkis, the Algerians who were France’s allies during the 1954-1962 Algerian War of Independence, are a case in point. Following the withdrawal of French troops, many of the harkis and their families, whom Paris left behind, were subjected to brutal reprisals by the Algerian authorities. Nearly 90,000 harkis were evacuated to France, but lived on the fringes of society in refugee camps and were systematically discriminated against.

10. The administrative model that the French used to govern their colonies is recognised by many scholars as ineffective. Paris’ reliance on its own people, ineffective work with the local elites, failure to take account of the ethnic, social and religious realities on the ground (as, for instance, during the division of colonies in Africa between European states at the 1884-1885 Berlin Conference, drawing the boundaries between the regions that later became independent states in West Africa in 1895 and in Equatorial Africa in 1910) predetermined many issues that the countries of the continent continue to face to this day. This view is held, in particular, by historians J. Sure-Canal (book Black Africa: West and Central) and Achille Mbembe (Critique of Black Reason).

Haiti is a compelling example of French colonialism creating lasting problems for the countries that later gained independence. The island threw off the colonial yoke in 1804 following a rebellion. In 1825, France wanted Haiti to pay it 150 million francs (about US$21 billion in today’s prices) in exchange for it recognising Haiti’s independence. This amount was later reduced to 90 million francs, but still represented a huge economic burden for the young republic. In 2003, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide formally demanded that France make reparations for the damage done to Haiti during the colonial rule and subsequent compensation for its independence. He made a case for his claim referring to historical justice and the need to compensate for the damage done to the country by colonial slavery and economic exploitation. According to him, Haitian payouts to the French had undermined Haiti’s economic development and stalled it for decades. Paris vehemently rejected Aristide’s claims, saying they had no legal or historical foundations. The French government argued that the issue about compensation had long been closed and no payments could be made. This stance provoked sharp criticism within Haiti and from the international community which supported the claims for paying reparations for Haiti’s colonial past.

History of French neo-colonialism

After World War II France saw a surge in national liberation movements in its former colonies. The 1960 United Nations Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples provided a major boost to liberation of African and Asian countries from French oppression. By the mid-1960s, Algeria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Syria, Tunisia, and Vietnam had gained independence from Paris. Paris’ attempts to retain the colonial possessions as part of its empire led to three bloody wars of independence (in Algeria in 1954-1962, in Cameroon in 1954-1964, and in Indochina in 1946-1954), in which the French were defeated, but acted with unusual cruelty (the total civilian losses in Algeria and Indochina amounted to over 2 million people).

Being forced to recognise independence of the former colonies, France tried to retain them within its scope of influence. Following the model of the British Commonwealth of Nations, a French Community (Communauté française) was created in 1958. However, this project was unviable and the French were forced to abandon it as early as in 1961. The neo-colonial policy towards African countries – Françafrique  - that has been in use to this day, proved to be a much better choice.

Bilateral and unequal, in fact, predatory cooperation agreements that Paris concluded with the African colonies that had gained independence formed its legal basis. These agreements gave French companies economic preferences, such as priority access to natural resources or even exclusive exploration and mining rights. Former colonies were under obligation to maintain favourable trading terms for French-made goods, often to the detriment of the local manufacturers and the economy in general. French companies received favourable treatment in competitive biddings and contracts for goods and services. France maintained military bases in a number of African countries, ensuring its military presence and ability to intervene in cases of political instability. These bases also served to project French power in the region. Paris provided loans and financial aid on terms that were favourable to it. France strongly promoted French language and culture by funding educational and cultural projects to the detriment of local languages and culture which helped maintain cultural influence and provided training of personnel which was loyal to France. Young people from the former colonies were granted scholarships to study in France, which helped strengthen ties and create French elite. The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie created in 1970 still plays an important role in promoting French cultural neo-colonialism. Such predatory cooperation treaties containing the above terms and conditions were concluded with, among others, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad (1960), Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Niger (1961), Senegal, Togo (1963), and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).

The Françafrique policy included Paris’s tight control over the leadership of the former colonies, which, using French protection in exchange for loyalty and monetary payments, siphoned off resources from their countries for their own enrichment, with the connivance and tacit approval of France, without regard for the interests of their people. Paris didn’t think twice before using reprisals and physical destruction to crack down on oppositionists and supporters of independence. The victims of the French security services include, in particular, the president of Togo Sylvanus Olympio (killed in 1963 during a military coup), the leader of the Cameroonian party UPC which fought for independence Félix-Roland Moumié (poisoned in 1960 in Geneva), president of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara (killed in 1987 in a coup), and a leader of the Moroccan independence movement Mehdi Ben Barka (killed in Paris in 1965). As opposed to that, African politicians who accepted the French rules enjoyed the protection of Paris, receiving from it carte blanche for any kind of actions in domestic politics and the economy.

Mass presence of French troops in Africa was another hallmark of the Françafrique policy reaching 60,000 at its peak in the 1960s. Today, Paris maintains military bases in Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, and Senegal. The presence of military units in Africa allowed the French to interfere in the affairs of the continent, supporting sides in internal conflicts. In 1964, the French suppressed the coup in Gabon against President Léon M’ba who was loyal to Paris, and restored his power in that country. In 1979, French troops conducted Operation Barracuda in the Central African Republic to overthrow Jean-Bédel Bokassa who had lost Paris’ support, as a result of which another French minion, David Dacko, came to power. In 2002 and 2011, the French intervened in Senegal’s internal conflict.

French Operation Sangaris in CAR in 2013-2016, Operation Serval (2013-2014) in Mali, and Operation Barkhane (2014-2022) in the Sahel were launched to stabilise the situation in Africa, but failed to produce the anticipated results. With the French lacking success, the African public opinion started seeing the French military as occupiers, which was among the reasons why the African authorities demanded that the French wind down their military presence in the CAR, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in 2021-2023.

Controlling African elites and military presence were designed to create conditions for the continued exploitation of African natural resources by French companies. For example, Elf Acquitaine (later rebranded to Total Energies) and Areva (now called Orano) had exclusive rights to develop oil fields and uranium deposits in Gabon, Niger, Republic of the Congo, and Chad. French holding companies such as Eramet, Bouygues, Vinci, Veolia, EDF, and Orange still have strong positions on the African market. Africa accounts for 25 percent of Total Energies’ hydrocarbon production, the Bolloré group still owns 42 ports, 17 container terminals and 2,700 km of railway on that continent. [8]

The CFA franc is a symbol of Françafrique. Creating this common currency in 1945 for the countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community enabled Paris to gain control of their financial system. Importantly, until the mid-1960s the French did not hide the neocolonial nature of this currency: its abbreviation stood for “colonies françaises d’Afrique” (French African colonies) and was renamed to “Communauté financière africaine” (African Financial Community) on a later occasion. The CFA franc exchange rate was initially pegged to the French franc and then to the euro. This makes the currency stable, but makes it dependent on the French and European central banks’ policies. France guarantees the convertibility of the CFA franc, which, on the one hand, protected it from exchange rate fluctuations and, on the other hand, allows Paris to influence the African countries’ monetary policy. Prior to 2021, the central banks of the countries using the CFA franc were under an obligation to keep up to 50 percent of their foreign exchange reserves in France, which ensured the latter’s access to significant financial resources of African countries and allowed it to control liquidity. Prior to 2021, French representatives attended the executive board meetings of the Bank of Central African States and the West African Central Bank, and exerted direct influence on decision-making in these institutions. Broadly speaking, the CFA franc helps attract foreign investment and contributes to economic stability in the countries that use this currency. However, it also limits these countries’ ability to pursue independent economic policies.

Modern-day French neo-colonialism

 Despite Paris occasionally making declarations over the past 15 years to the effect that the Françafrique policy is over, a number of African countries still view France as a colonial power which occupies their territories politically, militarily, and economically. Africans are unhappy with Paris’ attempts to impose its political rules and moral standards, put forward conditions when it comes to providing aid, or restrict their foreign relations. This is seen in Africa as interference in the internal affairs of the state and a manifestation of arrogant and demeaning attitude on the part of the French. Their striving for sovereignty, diversification of international relations and a surge in the anti-French sentiment in society weakened Paris’ position in the former colonies, primarily, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and the Central African Republic. In an attempt to keep them within its sphere of influence, Paris used a wide arsenal of pressure techniques, including termination of aid programmes, suspension of visa issuance, including for students and cultural figures, a media campaign to discredit the leadership of African countries, support for plans of external intervention, and military provocations using the French military deployed in neighbouring countries. 

The fact that France has so far been unable to overcome its colonial past can also be seen from the fact that the country includes overseas territories to this day, two of which (New Caledonia and French Polynesia) are recognised as non-self-governing territories (i.e. territories whose peoples have not yet achieved full self-government) by the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation. Moreover, in violation of UNGA Resolution 3385 of November 12, 1975, which calls on France to respect the unity and territorial integrity of the Union of the Comoros, including the island of Mayotte, Paris continues to occupy this territory. The Union of the Comoros, which considers Mayotte part of the country, does not recognise the results of the referendums held in 1974 and 1976, in which the majority of votes were cast in favour of Mayotte remaining part of France, since the voting was held under strong pressure from the French administration.

The persistence and even strengthening in recent years of the neocolonial policy of Paris in relation to the overseas territories is stated by media resources that are close to the French Communist Party. [9] The preservation of these former colonies as part of France reinforces its claims to be a global power with global presence, which holds the second place in the world in terms of the area of its exclusive economic zone. The status of a great power in the “Indo-Pacific” region, which in Macron’s world stretches from Djibouti to French Polynesia, is necessary to maintain and realise geopolitical ambitions of Paris which is trying to play an important role in the Western countries’ policies aimed at limiting China’s growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

France is using every avenue to suppress the independence movement in New Caledonia, which is of strategic importance not only because of its nickel deposits, which account for about 30 percent of the world’s proven reserves, but also because of the island’s large EEZ, which accounts for 14 percent of France’s total EEZ, as well as the presence on the archipelago of the largest French military base in the Pacific. The archipelago authorities show systemic disrespect for the interests of the autochthonous Kanak people through discrimination against indigenous people in matters of employment and poor socioeconomic conditions. [10]

In recent years, Paris has consistently worked to sabotage the decolonisation process in New Caledonia. The reform of the local election law initiated by the central authorities aims to reduce the electoral weight of the Kanaks and consequently limit their chances when it comes to self-government and struggle for independence through the political democratic process. The reform triggered widespread unrest in May 2024, which was quelled by the deployment of additional police, gendarmerie and army forces to New Caledonia.

The situation in Lebanon is a compelling proof of Paris’ neo-colonialist desire to interfere in the internal politics of its former possessions. After the explosion in the port of Beirut in August 2020, under the pretext of assisting Lebanon in providing disaster and acute crisis relief, President Macron, almost in an ultimatum form, tried to impose on that country his own vision of its future. He proposed revising the provisions of the 1943 National Pact on the confessional principle of the division of power and to develop a “new contract” for restructuring the entire political system. Many saw in the president’s plans a desire to restore and strengthen control over the former mandated territory. In an article [11] titled “Is France helping Lebanon, or trying to reconquer it?” the Associated Press noted that Macron acted as if Lebanon continues to be under French protectorate. France’s attempts to tie the provision of financial aid to Lebanon which was raised as a result of international donor conferences initiated by France in with Lebanon fulfilling certain conditions, such as conducting reforms, ensuring progress in fighting corruption, and so on are an example of neocolonial methods.

In 2021, French historians commissioned by Emmanuel Macron put together two reports, one about the history of Franco-Algerian relations, and the other one about France’s role in the Rwandan genocide. The absence of a clear statement of Paris’ responsibility for the crimes of colonialism and post-colonialism continues to evoke sharp criticism from Algerians and some Rwandans. On the contrary, many French people regarded the provisions in these documents recognising the “mistakes” made by the French leadership as almost a national betrayal.

Holding the French accountable for colonial crimes

 Former colonies, non-governmental organisations, and individuals have repeatedly tried to hold France accountable for the crimes of colonialism in court.

1. Lawsuits for damages caused by French nuclear tests in Algeria and French Polynesia:

- In 2006, a group of New Caledonians filed a lawsuit against the French government claiming they had been impacted by radiation exposure as a result of testing at Mururoa Atoll. They claimed compensation for health damages. French courts set the matter for hearing, and some plaintiffs received compensation.

- In 2010, a group of Algerians impacted by France’s nuclear tests in the Sahara in the 1960s filed a lawsuit in a French court seeking compensation for health and environmental damage. The French government admitted partial liability and began the process of paying compensations to the victims. As a result of the case, Law No. 2010-2 on the recognition and compensation of victims of French nuclear tests was passed in 2010, which provided compensation to victims of nuclear testing. Under this law, some victims received compensation, but the process was fairly long and tricky.

- In 2013, New Caledonian civil society organisations representing victims filed class action lawsuits demanding a more transparent and faster payment of compensations, as well as deeper research into the aftermath of the tests. France agreed to revise some cases and speed up the payment process, but a significant number of the demands have remained unmet.

- In 2018, several residents of French Polynesia filed lawsuits against the French government for health damages caused by nuclear tests conducted on Mururoa Atoll in the 1960s and 1970s. French courts accepted several cases and ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, granting compensation.

- In 2018, Algerian activists and human rights organisations filed lawsuits demanding a more transparent and faster payment of compensations, as well as full disclosure of the nuclear tests. France has agreed to revise a number of cases and expedite the payment process, but a significant number of the demands have remained unmet.

2. Lawsuits for war crimes and reprisals:

- In 2001, Algerian M. Garnet, a veteran of Algeria’s war of independence, filed a lawsuit against France, accusing the French security services and army of torturing him. The French court recognised the fact of torture and ordered the state to pay compensation.

- In 2003, Algerian A. Khalej filed a lawsuit against the French government, claiming he was brutally tortured by French troops during the war for Algerian independence. The French court recognised the fact of torture and ordered the state to pay compensation.

- In 2005, an association representing descendants of the victims of the 1945 massacres in Sétif  and Guelma, Algeria, filed lawsuits against the French state. The association demanded recognition of the massacres as a crime against humanity, compensations to the victims and their descendants, and full disclosure of archival data on the May 1945 events. The French courts dismissed most of the claims, citing statutes of limitations and lack of strong evidence.

- In 2005, the Association of the Sons of Algerian Martyrs representing descendants of victims of Algeria’s war of independence filed a lawsuit against the French government seeking recognition of mass killings, torture and reprisals committed by French troops. French courts dismissed most of the lawsuits, citing statutes of limitations.

- In 2005, former guerrillas who participated in an uprising in Madagascar that was brutally suppressed by the French and their descendants filed lawsuits against France demanding recognition of mass killings, torture and reprisals, as well as compensation for moral and material damages. French courts dismissed most of the claims, citing statutes of limitations and lack of strong evidence.

- In 2005, a group of Rwandans filed a class action lawsuit against France for complicity in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. The case was dismissed for lack of evidence.

- In 2009, the Association of Victims of Reprisals in Cameroon filed a class action lawsuit against the French state, demanding recognition of crimes, compensation and an independent investigation into the reprisals committed by French troops in suppressing uprisings in Cameroon in the 1950s. The French court dismissed the lawsuit, citing the statute of limitations.

- In 2010, the association of victims of reprisals in Madagascar filed a class action lawsuit against the French state demanding recognition of the crimes, compensation, and an independent investigation into the 1947 events. The French court dismissed the lawsuit.

- In 2010, Marthe Moumié, widow of Félix-Roland Moumié, leader of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) party, filed a lawsuit against the French state, accusing it of killing her husband and demanding it to recognise responsibility and pay a compensation for damages. The French court dismissed the lawsuit.

- In 2011, A. Amirouche, son of Colonel Amirouche who was a prominent Algerian resistance leader, filed a lawsuit against the French government, accusing it of torturing and killing his father in 1959. He demanded an admission of the crimes and compensation for moral damages. The court dismissed the suit, citing the statute of limitations.

- In 2011, the Association of Cameroonians for Truth and Justice representing the descendants of the victims of reprisals filed a class action lawsuit against France, demanding recognition of mass killings, torture and reprisals, and payment of compensation. The lawsuit was dismissed by a French court, but public pressure continued to mount leading to the French government officially recognising the brutal suppression of the uprising.

- In 2014, a group of African activists petitioned the ICC to launch an investigation into France’s actions in Africa, including reprisals and mass killings. The ICC did not initiate a formal investigation, but the initiative brought international attention to the issue.

- In 2015, descendants of the victims of the suppressed 1947 uprising in Madagascar filed a lawsuit against France demanding recognition and compensation for the killings and destruction. In 2016, the French government agreed to pay compensations to some victims.

- In 2017, a group of descendants of the victims of the Sétif massacre again filed a lawsuit against France. The group included relatives of the Algerian victims and survivors who claimed that French troops committed war crimes. The lawsuit demanded recognition of the crimes, compensation and an independent investigation. The French court again dismissed the suit, arguing that too much time had passed since the events which made hearing the case impracticable.

- In 2017, a group of Madagascar activists and historians studying the consequences of the 1947 uprising filed a lawsuit against the French government, demanding recognition of the massacres and reprisals, disclosure of archival documents, and paying compensation to the victims. The lawsuit was dismissed by the French court.

- In 2020, the French NGO Survivre filed a lawsuit accusing France of complicity in the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda and of covering for the perpetrators. The suit is pending.

3. Lawsuits for economic damages:

- In 2004, a group of Haitian activists filed a lawsuit against France seeking the return of debts that had been paid. French courts dismissed the lawsuit, but it sparked widespread debate about the need for reparations for colonial exploitation.

- In 2019, several West African organisations filed a class action lawsuit against France, seeking reparations for the damage caused by colonial economic policies. Even though the lawsuit was not successful, it brought attention to the issue of economic injustice.

4. NGO petitions:

- In 2005, Amnesty International filed a petition with the UN demanding an independent investigation into the Sétif massacre and paying compensation to the victims and their descendants. The petition drew international attention to the events of 1945, but did not lead to concrete legal consequences. Nevertheless, it was an important step in the process of recognising historical injustice.

- In 2009, Amnesty International filed a petition with the UN demanding recognition of the crimes committed by French troops in Cameroon and an independent investigation. No concrete results were achieved.

- In 2010, Human Rights Watch filed a petition with the UN calling for an investigation and recognition of the Sétif massacre as a crime against humanity. The petition raised awareness of the issue and put pressure on the French government, but no concrete legal action followed.

- In 2013, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, in conjunction with Madagascar activists, filed a petition with the French government to recognise crimes against humanity committed by French troops, to pay compensations, and to disclose all archival data related to the 1947 uprising. No concrete results were achieved.

- In 2013, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, in conjunction with the Cameroonian human rights organisations, filed a petition with the French government demanding recognition of crimes and paying compensations for the suppression of uprisings in Cameroon in the 1950s. No concrete results were achieved.

- In 2015, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in conjunction with Algerian human rights organisations, filed a petition to the UN demanding recognition of the Sétif massacre and paying compensations. The petition attracted international attention and ratcheted up pressure on France, but had no concrete legal consequences.

- In 2020, several international and Algerian human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and FIDH, filed a joint petition to the UN that included demands for recognising the Sétif massacre as a crime against humanity, conducting an independent investigation, disclosing archival documents, and paying compensations. The organisations also demanded that the French government bring a formal apology. The joint petition increased international pressure on France and encouraged discussion of the issue in international forums, but no concrete action was taken.

5. Matters of holding France accountable for the crimes of colonialism and neo-colonialism, having the French recognise their guilt and make an official apology, and pay compensations to the former colonies have been raised on several occasions at the official level. In particular, in July 2005, the African Union adopted a declaration which called on France to recognise its responsibility for colonial crimes and to pay compensation to the families of the victims. Similar demands were made following the AU summit in January 2013. In the same year, the Caribbean Community created a reparations commission to deal with reparations for slavery and colonialism. The commission sent inquiries to former colonial powers, including France, demanding recognition of the crimes of colonialism and payment of reparations. In 2015, the African Union and ECOWAS issued a joint statement calling on former colonial powers, including Paris, to recognise their responsibility for the crimes of colonialism and to pay reparations. In 2018, the African Union adopted a declaration condemning the crimes of colonialism and emphasising the need to launch international investigations. The document called for establishing an international mechanism to address reparations.

6. Former colonies have repeatedly raised the issue of holding the French accountable for colonialism at various international venues. In 2001, Algeria addressed the UN General Assembly with a proposal to condemn colonialism and recognise its crimes. In 2010, Algeria attempted to go to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate France’s colonial crimes, but the case stalled due to difficulties in applying the court’s jurisdiction retroactively. In 2015, Senegal initiated discussions within the African Union on the importance of condemning colonialism and recognising its crimes, including France. In 2016, Vietnam initiated an ASEAN discussion on condemning colonial crimes and possible measures to hold former colonial powers, including France, accountable. In 2017, Mali requested the UN and the African Union to conduct an international investigation into France’s colonial crimes and consider compensation for the victims. In 2018, Cambodia filed an inquiry with the UN International Court of Justice to consider holding France accountable for crimes committed during the colonial rule. This request was supported by a number of other countries in the region, but wasn’t formally addressed.

Algerians, Rwandans, Malians, Burkinabes, Senegalese and Vietnamese have repeatedly demanded that Paris recognise responsibility for the past crimes and make an official apology. In particular, the 2008 report of the Rwandan Commission for National Unity and Reconciliation and the 2010 report of the Rwandan National Commission against Genocide documented the involvement of French troops in extermination of the Tutsis in 1994.

In 2018, the Algerian National Assembly released a report accusing France of systematic torture, mass killings and other crimes against humanity during colonial rule and especially during the war of independence. The report cited evidence of mass executions, bombing of civilian communities, and the use of napalm. In 2020, Algeria created a truth and reconciliation commission to document and to recognise the crimes of colonialism. This commission has released a series of reports detailing accounts of torture, deportations, and other forms of abuse.

In 2015, Cameroonian historians and human rights organisations released a report detailing reprisals against national movements, especially the Union of the Peoples du Cameroun (UPC). The document claimed that French troops killed thousands of civilians. In 2019, the Cameroonian government initiated a study of the archives, which led to the publication of a number of documents confirming mass killings, torture and other crimes by the French colonial authorities.

In 2017, the Malian government released a report accusing France of numerous human rights violations, including mass executions, deportations, and economic exploitation. In 2020, a group of Malian historians released a study detailing the crimes of the French colonisers, including the destruction of the local culture and economy.

Similar reports holding France responsible for the crimes of colonialism and neocolonialism have been compiled in Guinea (2008), Senegal (2009), Vietnam, Côte d’Ivoire (2016), Chad (2017), Burkina Faso, Cambodia (2018), Gabon (2019), and CAR (2020).

6. Similar materials have been published by African regional organisations. In 2015, ECOWAS released a report on the aftermath of colonialism in West Africa, which included evidence of reprisals, economic exploitation, and forced displacement by colonial authorities. The document described long-term economic consequences of colonialism, such as inequality, backward infrastructure and poverty. Examples of cultural suppression and the destruction of traditional social structures have been documented. The report contains recommendations for recognising the responsibility of former colonial powers and establishing mechanisms for paying compensations.

In 2017, ECOCAS released a report on colonial crimes in Central Africa, outlining specific examples of colonial crimes such as mass executions, deportations and cultural destruction. The text analysed long-term impact of colonialism on the economic and social development of the region and made recommendations for establishing historical justice and options for paying compensations.

In 2018, ECOWAS put together a study on colonial crimes in French West Africa, detailing cases of violent suppression of rebellions, forced labour, and other crimes. Optional bringing to responsibility through international courts and organisations is being explored.

In 2019, ECOCAS released a report on colonial reprisals relying on eyewitness accounts. It explores legal avenues for accountability through the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international bodies.

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[6] Crosby, Alfred W. Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900. (1986). ISBN: 978-0-521-45690-8.

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[8] Article L’imérialismefrançais :affaiblimaistoujourstoxique – Contretemps. Revue de critique communiste – 21.01.2022 - https://www.contretemps.eu/imperialisme-france-armee-Françafrique-neocolonialisme/

[9] https://www.contretemps.eu/imperialisme-france-armee-Françafrique-neocolonialisme/

[10] https://reporterre.net/Nouvelle-Caledonie-Il-y-a-clairement-une-radicalisation-de-l-Etat-francais

[11] https://apnews.com/general-news-8eab366aa599b101eb2aad10f9e6528d