This archive report was first published on 9 October 2021.
On October 8, 2021, Kenyan media personality Adelle Onyango made headlines in France after she confronted President Emmanuel Macron during a panel discussion in Montpellier. The event, which was attended by around 3,000 Africans, was a significant moment in the ongoing conversation about France's colonial past.
Onyango, who was part of a group of 12 young Africans, accused France of living in denial of its destructive past during the colonial times. She emphasized that Africans had felt the pain of colonialism every single day, and urged France to support democratic renewal in countries where leaders were holding onto power under 'democratic dictatorships.'
Her speech was met with fierce applause, and she was not the only one to speak out against France's colonial legacy. Senegalese blogger Cheikh Fall also asked President Macron to stop cooperating with dictatorial presidents and to offer an apology for colonial-era crimes.
President Macron responded to the young leaders, stating that Paris routinely voices disapproval of political or military coups on the continent, and reduces cooperation with authoritarian regimes. He also emphasized that asking for an apology was too easy, and that he believed in a policy of recognition.
Macron promised that an honest assessment of France's colonial past would be introduced in school curricula, and that this would be an important step towards acknowledging and learning from the country's history.
