Emmanuel Macron recognizes that FLN leader Larbi Ben M’hidi was “assassinated by French soldiers”

“The recognition of this assassination attests that the work of historical truth, which the President of the Republic initiated with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, will continue,” said the Elysée press release on Friday.

A new gesture of reconciliation. French President Emmanuel Macron recognized on Friday November 1 that the leader of the National Liberation Front (FLN) Larbi Ben M’hidi was “murdered [en 1957] by French soldiers placed under the command of General Aussaresses“. This declaration comes on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the insurrection of November 1, 1954, which opened the Algerian war.

Born in 1923 near Aïn M’lila, Larbi Ben M’hidi was responsible for the “autonomous zone of Algiers since 1956”pendant “The Battle of Algiers”recalls the press release. At the beginning of the 2000s, theGeneral Paul Aussaresses confessed to the assassination, denying the official version which had disguised his death as a suicide attempt. “As the President of the Republic has already recognized for Maurice Audin and Ali Boumendjel, this repression was accompanied by the establishment of a system outside society of human and citizen rights, made possible by the vote for ‘special powers’ in Parliament”adds the Elysée.

“The recognition of this assassination attests that the work of historical truth, which the President of the Republic initiated with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune will continue”we can still read in their press release. Emmanuel Macron’s goal is “to achieve the creation of a peaceful and shared memory”. Tensions are currently high between France and Algeria, particularly after an important state visit to Morocco where the head of state recognized the sovereignty of the kingdom over Western Sahara, to the great displeasure of Algiers.