In a historic letter to his Cameroonian counterpart, President Paul Biya, French President Emmanuel Macron has, for the first time, officially recognized France’s role in the violent repression of independence movements in Cameroon between 1945 and 1971.
The acknowledgment follows a detailed report by a commission of historians, submitted to both leaders in January 2025.
The letter, made public on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, marks a significant step in addressing a long-contested chapter of Cameroon’s colonial past. President Macron writes that France “assumes the role and responsibility” for what he now terms a “war” waged in Cameroon, involving “repressive violence” by colonial authorities and the French army.
He notes that these operations continued even after Cameroon gained independence in 1960, often in coordination with the new Cameroonian authorities under President Ahmadou Ahidjo.
The recognition sheds light on some of the darkest events of the period, including the Ekité massacre on the night of 30–31 December 1956, when dozens of residents and members of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) were executed by colonial forces.
It also acknowledges the deaths of key independence leaders, notably Ruben Um Nyobè, killed during military operations led by the French army.
A French-led commission of historians, headed by researcher Karine Ramondy, spent two years examining the respective responsibilities of French and Cameroonian actors.
While their work confirmed extensive French involvement in post-war and post-independence repression, it could not clarify the circumstances surrounding the 1960 assassination in Geneva of Félix-Roland Moumié, a prominent anti-colonial figure.
While Macron has pledged to establish a Franco-Cameroonian committee to continue historical research into the colonial period, the recognition remains largely symbolic. It acknowledges past atrocities but does not yet detail specific responsibilities or open a pathway toward reparations for victims and their families.
This formal admission, however incomplete, represents a rare moment of accountability, highlighting the enduring impact of colonial-era violence on Cameroon’s historical memory and Franco-African relations.
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