Chirac speaks of French failure

Paris - President Jacques Chirac yesterday became the first French leader to publicly acknowledge France's failure to stop barbaric…

Paris - President Jacques Chirac yesterday became the first French leader to publicly acknowledge France's failure to stop barbaric reprisals against Algerians who fought on its side during the 1954-62 war of independence.

When a defeated France pulled out of its north African colony after the war, victorious Algerian revolutionaries massacred thousands of the French loyalists, so-called harkis, their wives and children.

"France, as it left Algerian soil, failed to stop them, it's true. We failed to save our own people," he told leaders of France's large Algerian community at his ElysΘe Palace on the first national day of remembrance for the harkis.

  • Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date

  • Sign up for push alerts to get the best breaking news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone

  • Listen to In The News podcast daily for a deep dive on the stories that matter