France has conceded its role in a conflict that spanned a generation, admitting to a 26-year war in Cameroon from 1945 to 1971. This acknowledgment reframes the struggle from a series of “episodes” into a sustained, long-term military and political campaign of repression.
President Emmanuel Macron’s letter to President Paul Biya officially recognized this extended period of violence, based on the findings of a joint historical commission. The report detailed how French forces and their allies violently targeted independence movements for years, both before and after the 1960 independence date.
The sheer length of the conflict underscores the tenacity of the Cameroonian independence movement and the brutal extent of the French response. The violence claimed tens of thousands of lives and shaped the political trajectory of Cameroon for the rest of the 20th century, a reality now formally admitted by the French state.
Despite this admission, the gesture remains incomplete for many due to the absence of an apology or reparations. However, by acknowledging the generational scale of the war, France has opened the door to a deeper understanding of the profound and lasting trauma inflicted upon Cameroonian society.