On November 29, 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron for the first time publicly recognized the Thiaroye massacre as such – the killing of West African soldiers by French forces at a military camp near Dakar, Senegal, on December 1, 1944.
The timing is key: Macron’s statement arrived on the eve of the massacre’s 80th anniversary on December 1 and follows France’s July 2024 decision to posthumously grant the soldiers “morts pour la France” status – an official designation recognizing their death in service of France, as a formal acknowledgment of their sacrifice for the nation.
It also coincides with a milestone in the massacre’s cultural memory – the restoration and screening of Ousmane Sembène and Thierno Faty Sow’s 1988 film “Camp de Thiaroye,” which debuted at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the Classics section, bringing renewed international attention to this landmark work about the tragic events.
On Friday, November 29, Akoroko Premium subscribers received an in-depth piece that connects France’s first official recognition of the massacre with Sembène’s pioneering 1988 film, showing how artistic truth-telling preceded political acknowledgment by decades.
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