France to pay reparations to thousands of Algerians and their families

French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France on May 11, 2023 [Ibrahim Ezzat – Anadolu Agency]

The French government is to pay reparations to thousands more Algerians and their families who were held in internment camps in France after the North African country’s war of independence, AFP reports.

According to the report, the French government agreed to increase the number of Algerians and their relatives eligible to claim compensation for being forced to live in deplorable and squalid living conditions several decades ago.

More than 200,000 Algerians were recruited by French colonial forces during the war for independence between 1954 and 1962.

In 2021, Emmanuel Macron asked for “forgiveness” on behalf of France for leaving the fighter Algerians and their families to their fate after independence.

READ: Algeria: A populist leader challenging our notions of what is possible in the Middle East

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