French Historians, Activists Demand State Recognition of 1945 Algerian Massacres

✍️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada

In Strasbourg, a powerful message to Paris: Acknowledging colonial atrocities is key to restoring Franco-Algerian trust and healing historical wounds.

Algiers, Algeria | May 9th, 2025 — In a forceful appeal for historical justice and reconciliation, a coalition of French historians, political figures, and civil society organizations has renewed calls for the French state to officially recognize the massacres committed in Algeria on May 8, 1945, demanding accountability for what they denounce as state crimes against an unarmed population.

On Thursday evening, a commemorative rally was held in Strasbourg (Lower Rhine department) to mark the 80th anniversary of the Sétif, Guelma, and Kherrata massacres, which left at least 45,000 Algerians dead in one of the bloodiest episodes of colonial repression. Over 120 participants gathered at Kléber Square in a symbolic protest organized by a diverse alliance of grassroots groups, including “Libre Pensée du Bas-Rhin,” “MRAP Strasbourg,” “Association des Travailleurs du Maghreb en France,” “Solidarité Kanaky-Alsace,” “La France Insoumise du Bas-Rhin,” “Parti Ouvrier Indépendant du Bas-Rhin,” and “Les Écologistes de Strasbourg et de l’Eurodistrict.”

According to French media sources, the demonstration aimed to pressure the French authorities into officially recognizing the massacres as crimes of the state and integrating them into national memory.

In a parallel political initiative, more than 70 members of parliament from the New Popular Front and La France Insoumise presented a draft resolution to the French National Assembly earlier this week. The resolution urges the government to acknowledge the atrocities of May 8, 1945, and to condemn them unequivocally.

The proposed text brands the massacres as a “state crime committed against a defenseless people, in flagrant violation of the universal principles of human rights.” It calls for their inclusion in school curricula, the full declassification of related archives, and the institution of a national day of remembrance.

Leading historians and intellectuals have also joined the growing call for recognition. Among them, Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison, a prominent scholar on French colonialism, emphasized the systematic repression of 1945 had been deliberately concealed by the French state for decades. Speaking to media, he stated: “Recognition of these massacres at the highest level of the state would significantly improve relations between France and Algeria.”

Another member of the historical advocacy group, Neil Anderson, pointed to the persistence of anti-Algerian sentiment in contemporary France, arguing that “political leaders must abandon populist rhetoric centered on identity and religion, and instead show the courage to face colonial truths.”

Further evidence of long-standing neglect came from France’s National Audiovisual Institute (INA), which published a retrospective article describing the massacres as a “forgotten genocide” that remained hidden from the French public for decades. INA noted that the first public display of rare footage from the events did not occur until 2005. At the time, Actualités Françaises—the official state newsreel producer—had deliberately omitted coverage of the violent crackdown, underscoring the state’s early efforts to minimize or erase the colonial horror.

Several French and international media outlets have since covered the anniversary, portraying the May 8 massacres as a pivotal moment in Algeria’s long and painful struggle for independence. For many, the events of 1945 represent not only a historical injustice, but an enduring wound in the relationship between Algeria and its former colonizer—one that, if left unacknowledged, risks deepening the divide.

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