France-Cameroon Memorial Committee Present Report to President Paul BIYA

January 2025

Members of the multidisciplinary Franco-Cameroonian Joint Commission on France’s role and commitment against independence and opposition movements in Cameroon from 1945 to 1971 have presented the report of the two-year research to the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul BIYA.

French historian Karine Ramondy, co-chair of the memorial commission, solemnly handed over the scientific report to the Head of State in a ceremony organised at Unity Palace on 28 January 2025.

President Emmanuel MACRON received a copy of the findings on 21 January 2025 at the Elysee Palace.

Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, Minister Delegate for Francophonie and International Partnerships represented the French Head of State at Unity Palace.

President Paul BIYA hailed the courage and tenacity of the 14-man group of researchers for the monumental accomplishment, which will act as a collective therapy for the growth of the longstanding and friendly ties between Yaounde and Paris.

 

Read President Paul BIYA’s Speech

Joint Communique (pdf)

What Will Be The Legacy Of The France-Cameroon Commission?

Macron announced the creation of the commission in July 2022, at a joint press conference with Cameroon’s long-time President Paul Biya, a move seen as part of Macron’s promises to deal with France’s colonial past. The commission was co-chaired by French historian Karine Ramondy and Cameroonian musician Blick Bassy, who dedicated one of his albums, “1958”, to assassinated anti-colonialist leader Ruben Um Nyobè. Bassy was in charge of the cultural aspect of the commission’s work. The “research” commission was composed of seven French and seven Cameroonian historians, of whom five are women and nine men.

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Macron says joint Franco-Haiti commission will examine 'painful' past

April 17, 2025 

PARIS, April 17 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron is to set up a joint Franco-Haitian commission to examine France's past with its former Caribbean colony, but he made no mention of the possibility of reparations that Haitian activists have long called for.

Macron said on Thursday that once the commission's work was completed, it would propose recommendations to both governments.

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France-Algeria: First Meeting of the Commission of Historians

Five French historians must begin work alongside five Algerian peers on the colonial period, this Wednesday, November 22, 2023. The recommendation of the (Benjamin) Stora report taken up by Emmanuel Macron is taking shape, but the relationship between the two countries remains extremely sensitive. 

Read further here

An Algerian-French Historians' Commission?

Benjamin Stora, a leading French authority on Algerian history, was commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron in 2020 to write a “report on the memory of the colonisation of Algeria and the Algerian War”.  The report was submitted in early 2021 and puts forward a series of new initiatives that France could implement to pave the way for a “reconciliation of memories”.  

Among other things, it calls for 

• The establishment of a “Memory and truth” commission to “encourage joint initiatives”on history and memory;
• The creation of a commission of Franco-Algerian historians tasked with shedding light on the kidnapping and killing of Europeans in Oran in July 1962
• The creation of a Franco-Algerian commission tasked with establishing the history of the famous Baba Marzug cannon and studying its possible restitution
• The revival of plans for a Franco-Algerian history museum; the organisation of conferences in 2021 (on African independence movements)
• The establishment of an archival collection jointly held by both countries and open to the public.

On the question of writing a common history of Algier and France, Stora noted:

Clearly, these are two opposing visions that cannot be reconciled. But underneath these visions, there’s nevertheless a cultural mixing that has taken place, ties that have been forged, contact that has been established and a togetherness that has existed.... So, there’s still a history we can draw on, not as a way to bring about reconciliation, which cannot be, but to find common ground. If we tap into this history, we see that there are things that bridge us together and potential avenues for cooperation, and that allows us to envision a sort of future together, with the help of specific initiatives. These initiatives can take the form of paying tribute to those who were killed or went missing in the war, promoting literature, etc.

Click here for a full interview with Benjamin Stora