French President Emmanuel Macron has publicly recognized France’s role in the violent repression of Cameroon’s independence movement, citing a new report by Cameroonian and French historians that examined the period from 1945 to 1971. In a letter to President Paul Biya released Tuesday, Macron stated that “a war had taken place in Cameroon” in which colonial authorities and the French army used “repressive violence of several kinds” in certain regions. While pledging to take responsibility for France’s actions, Macron did not issue an official apology, leaving unresolved debates over potential reparations for atrocities committed before and after Cameroon’s independence in 1960.

The report documents large-scale military operations against independence fighters, including the killing of four prominent nationalist leaders, such as Ruben Um Nyobe, leader of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC). It details how France forced hundreds of thousands into internment camps and backed brutal militias to suppress the independence struggle, with tens of thousands killed between 1956 and 1961. The decision to launch the investigation was made in 2022 during Macron’s visit to Yaoundé, under pressure from Cameroonian voices demanding formal acknowledgment and justice.

Macron expressed willingness to promote further research and ensure the findings are made available to universities and scientific institutions in both countries. The statement forms part of a broader French effort to confront its colonial past. In recent years, Macron has acknowledged France’s role in the 1944 Thiaroye massacre in Senegal and its failure to prevent the 1994 Rwandan genocide, during which about 800,000 people were killed. However, the lack of a formal apology in the Cameroon case is expected to remain a contentious issue, particularly as local calls for reparations gain momentum.