France signals willingness to discuss reparations for colonial massacres in Niger

Source: The Guardian

France signals willingness to discuss reparations for colonial massacres in Niger

Exclusive: French government says it is open to dialogue but does not acknowledge responsibility in letter seen by the Guardian

Eromo Egbejule in Abidjan
Tue 15 Jul 2025 00.00 EDT
Last modified on Tue 15 Jul 2025 09.46 EDT

More than a century after its troops burned villages and looted cultural artefacts in the quest to include Niger in its west African colonial portfolio, France has signalled willingness over possible restitution, but is yet to acknowledge responsibility.

“France remains open to bilateral dialogue with the Nigerien authorities, as well as to any collaboration concerning provenance research or patrimonial cooperation,” the office of France’s permanent representative to the UN wrote in a document seen by the Guardian.

The 19 June response was given to a letter dated two months earlier from a UN special rapporteur working on a complaint by four Nigerien communities representing descendants of victims of the 1899 Mission Afrique Centrale (MAC), one of the most violent colonial campaigns in Africa.

“Although France was aware of the atrocities at the time, no MAC officer has ever been held responsible for these crimes … France has not conducted any official inquiry or acknowledged the horrors inflicted on the communities affected,” wrote Bernard Duhaime, a professor of international law at the University of Quebec in Montreal and the UN special rapporteur working on the case.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/15/france-willingness-discuss-reparations-niger