Sixty years after the massacre of October 17, 1961, in Paris, Emmanuel Macron denounced during a tribute ceremony, Saturday October 16, “inexcusable crimes” for the Republic.
Never a President of the Republic had participated in a tribute in memory of the victims of October 17, 1961. Saturday October 16, in the afternoon, Emmanuel Macron laid a wreath near the Bezons bridge (Hauts-de-Seine ), where demonstrators were killed or thrown into the Seine, sixty years ago. While François Hollande had spoken of “bloody repression”, Emmanuel Macron went further, writing in a statement: “The crimes committed that night under the authority of Maurice Papon are inexcusable for the Republic.”
Among the fifty or so guests at the ceremony, Lyes Salem, Franco-Algerian actor and director expressed his satisfaction, citing a “clear and necessary recognition, eagerly awaited”. However, some descendants of the demonstrators criticize Emmanuel Macron for not having named the perpetrators of these crimes. On October 17, 1961, thousands of Algerians went to Paris to denounce the curfew imposed on them. The repression had turned into a massacre. Three victims had been officially counted at the time, but Emmanuel Macron now recognizes several dozen.