Larbi Ben M’hidi, a pivotal figure in Algeria’s War of Independence, was assassinated by French forces following his detention, as acknowledged by French President Emmanuel Macron.
According to the French presidency, President Emmanuel Macron has now admitted that Larbi Ben M’hidi, a pivotal player in Algeria’s War of Independence against France, was murdered by French forces following his detention in 1957.
“He recognised today that Larbi Ben M’hidi, a national hero for Algeria… was killed by French soldiers,” the presidency said Friday, marking the 70th anniversary of the uprising that led to the war, in a fresh attempt by Macron to make amends with the former colony.
Both sides are deeply scarred by France’s colonization of Algeria for more than a century and the bloody 1954–1962 war of independence.
Macron has made a number of attempts at reconciliation in recent years, but he has refrained from expressing regret for French imperialism.
According to the presidency, Macron has worked since taking office in 2017 “to look at the history of colonization and the Algerian War in the face, with the aim of creating a peaceful and shared memory.”
The National Liberation Front (FLN), which started the uprising against French control that resulted in the war, had six founding members, including Ben M’hidi.
The official story, according to the presidency, states that Ben M’hidi tried suicide after being arrested in February 1957 and passed away while being transported to the hospital.
However, it claimed that soldiers led by General Paul Aussaresses had actually slain him; he acknowledged this at the start of the new millennium.
Macron, who was running for president at the time, called the French occupation a “crime against humanity” in 2017.
Although “repentance” and “apologies” were not included in the 2020 assessment he commissioned from historian Benjamin Stora, it did suggest additional steps to bring the two nations together.
However, in 2022, Macron, who has worked to forge a close bond with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, raised the subject of whether Algeria was a country prior to French colonization, which infuriated Algiers.
