For the first time, France’s Macron calls 1944 killings of West African troops by French a massacre

Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — France’s President Emmanuel Macron has for the first time recognized the killing of West African soldiers by the French Army in 1944 as a massacre. The recognition came Thursday in a letter addressed to Senegalese authorities. Between 35 and 400 West African soldiers who fought in the World War II Battle of France in 1940 were killed on Dec. 1, 1944 by French soldiers after what the French described as a mutiny over unpaid wages. The West Africans were members of a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. Senegal’s president said he hopes Macron’s letter will help “open the door” so that the “whole truth about this painful event” can finally come out.