The 1961 massacre of Algerians in France commemorated

Commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of the day Paris police brutally cracked down on Algerian demonstrators during the final year of Algeria’s struggle for independence from French colonisation.

On October 17, 1961, protesters held a peaceful demonstration against a discriminatory night-time curfew targeting Algerians in the Paris region. About 12,000 Algerians were arrested and dozens were killed, their bodies thrown into the Seine River.

Human rights, anti-racism groups, and Algerian associations staged a tribute march in Paris on Sunday and called on authorities to recognise France’s responsibility for the “tragedies and horrors” related to Algeria’s independence war.

Participants called on authorities to open up the archives on the bloodshed in France’s capital that day.

“It’s high time on this 60th anniversary that a strong statement be made at the highest level of the state,” historian Naima Huber Yahi told Al Jazeera.

‘Unforgivable crime’

French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged the crimes committed by French authorities on that day, which were covered up for decades.

“The repression was brutal, violent, bloody,” Macron said in a statement released on Saturday, calling the massacre “inexcusable”.

Historians say at least 120 protesters died, according to Macron’s office. The exact number has never been established as archives remain partially closed. Some estimates suggest as many as 300 people were killed.

Macron paid tribute to the victims on Saturday at the Bezons bridge over the Seine River in the northwest of Paris. He was the first president to attend a commemoration event for the massacre.

Speaking at the event, Macron told relatives and activists the crackdown on the protest under the command of notorious Paris police chief Maurice Papon was an “unforgivable crime”.

Yet, he stopped short of giving a public speech and issuing a formal apology.

Algerian journalist Maher Mezahi told Al Jazeera Macron’s actions fell short of expectations.

“He simply has never recognised the state’s responsibility in this massacre,” Mezahi said.

While admitting the responsibility of the police, the president did not acknowledge the role played by state-sponsored colonialism and racism.

“The French authorities are always taking a half-step,” he added.

‘Systematic torture’

The president’s move was part of a series of steps taken by him to address France’s brutal history with Algeria, which had been under French rule for 132 years until its independence in 1962.

Earlier this year, he announced a decision to speed up the declassification of secret documents related to Algeria’s 1954-1962 war of independence.

In 2018, Macron formally recognised the responsibility of the French state in the 1957 death of Maurice Audin, a dissident in Algeria, admitting for the first time the French military’s use of systematic torture during the war.

Mezahi said there is still “a lot of unease” in France around integration, with French society not fully accepting Algerians and Algerians not feeling fully French.

Presidential elections are expected in France in April 2022, with the far right likely to further inflame sentiments around immigration.