Emmanuel Macron wrestled with the demons of France’s colonial past this week by acknowledging the country carried out systematic torture during the Algerian war of independence. Mr Macron, who at 40 is the first French president born after the conflict, went further than any of his predecessors in recognising the scale of abuse by French troops during the 1954-62 war. It later transpired he was tortured repeatedly in a villa in the Algiers neighbourhood of El Biar, but that version was never fully recognised by the French state until now. The president carefully stipulated the army itself was not to blame, as it had been granted “legal” recourse to torture. Mr Macron later backtracked on his “crime against humanity” remark, calling for “neither denial nor repentance”.

Source: National Post September 15, 2018 20:48 UTC