Sixty years after the end of the Algerian war of independence, the French Senate has validated a bill formalising an apology to Algerian Harki soldiers who fought on behalf of the French colonial army. It paves the way for compensation for thousands of family members and descendants who were forced to live in squalid conditions when they came to France.
The move is a culmination of steps taken by President Emmanuel Macron who asked the Harkis for "forgiveness" during a ceremony on 20 September.
"France did not pay its dues to Harkis, their wives, their children after the war," he said, adding "the Harkis gave their strength, spilled their blood for France."
The Harkis were the Algerian muslims who fought on the side of the French during the war of independence, but afterwards were left to fend for themselves after the peace accords were signed in Evian on 18 March 1962.
This bill is "one of recognition by the nation of a deep wound, a French tragedy, a dark page in our history," Minister for Veterans Affairs Geneviève Darrieussecq said.
"We are making progress along the path of reconciliation and memory, something we know will take a long time," the rapporteur of the bill Marie-Pierre Richer from the Républicains (LR) said of the text which was approved by the lower house of parliament (Assemblée Nationale) last week.
Emotions running high
"No text could possibly heal the wounds of a war," echoed Laurent Burgoa (LR), illustrating the level of emotion associated with the debate, both among politicians and the Harki community themselves.
Up to 200,000 Harkis - the name comes from the Arabic word for "movement" - fought for the French colonial power during the bloody war from 1954 to 1962 against Algeria's National Liberation Front (FLN).
There were atrocities on both sides and the conflict left at least 400,000 dead.
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The law recognises the "mistreatment" of some 90,000 harkis who escaped to France at the end of the war. Around half of them were forced to live for years in squalid internment camps.
These villages in the forest were "places of banishment where some died, and many were traumatised," Darrieussecq said.
The law aims to provide compensation packages ranging from €2,000 to €15,000 depending on the amount of time spent in the camps, with sums to be awarded by a special national commission.
Unforgiveable acts
Around 50,000 people are eligible for this reparation, which will cost the government €310 million over a six-year period.
There has been some criticism of the fact that those who missed out also lived in difficult circumstances, even if they lived in urban housing estates and were allowed to move around.
A national day of homage was established on the 25 September, following a decree in 2003, a date that will be enshrined in the law.
During a speech at the Elysée Palace in January, Macron also recognised the "unforgiveable" acts of the French Republic namely for the shooting of dozens of citizens by the French military in Algiers and in Oran in 1962.
On Tuesday last week, Macron also paid homage to the nine victims of an attack on a Paris metro station on 8 February 1962 which coincided with a peace rally held in Algiers on the same day.
