The severed heads of the resistance fighters were displayed in a market square first. Then they were shipped back to private collections in Paris. For decades, they were boxed up in a museum basement and finally, this July, Emmanuel Macron sent them home. For President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the moment was recognition of a massacre by the French more than 170 years ago. For Macron, it’s part of his effort to project a modern image of the French state at a time when ethnic divisions at home have been laid bare by the Black Lives Matter protests against police violence. Macron has said he wants to see the return of many more African relics and artifacts taken during the colonial era. He supports efforts in West Africa to split from the French-backed common currency and has promised to open the archives on the genocide that took place under a French-backed government in Rwanda.
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG
More Stories
Economic Perks of Growing Cycling Culture in North Africa
The Bank of Uganda Lowers Limits on the Value of Cheque Payments to Promote e-payments
Four Industrial Policy Regimes that have Shaped Africa
Ex Standard Bank Leader Cleared in Mozambique Price Fixing
Zanzibar and Pemba are about to Become a Test Site for a Mobile Internet Network
East Africa’s Mineral Deposits at the Centre of Future-facing Commodities
A Scramble for Controlling Interest in Nigeria’s Oldest Bank
Top Risks Facing South Africa
New Scheme to Save Zimbabwe’s Botched Land Reform
The First Floating LNG Facility is Deployed in the Deep Waters of the African Continent
The EU Lifts Air Travel Bans on Southern African States
Senegal’s Illustrious Portfolio of Architecture