The town of Gonesse, north of Paris, on Tuesday unveiled an alley plaque in the name of Algerian nationalist lawyer Ali Boumendjel, who Emmanuel Macron admitted in 2021 had been “tortured and murdered” by the French army during the Algerian war.
The event took place on Tuesday afternoon in the presence of "
the family
" of Mr. Boumendjel, the city's communication department told AFP.
The plaque bearing his name was affixed to an alley in the popular Fauconnière district.
Another alley in the same neighborhood was also named after Fanny Pech, "
former school principal and elected official of the city several years ago who was repatriated from Algeria
," said the same source.
Read alsoAlgiers welcomes France's recognition of the assassination of Algerian nationalist Ali Boumendjel
"
These two events are part of the mayor's desire for a process of reconciliation of memories, respecting each story, the year of the 60th anniversary of the end of the Algerian war and the history of a symbolic district
”, argued the city, located in Val-d’Oise and led by the socialist Jean-Pierre Blazy.
A lawyer in favor of the independence of Algeria
This inauguration is of symbolic importance.
It is "
the first time to my knowledge in France
" that a street sign was unveiled in the name of Ali Boumendjel, "
this Algerian militant for democracy, for peace and for the independence of Algeria
”, underlined the historian Benjamin Stora, specialist in the Algerian war (1954-1962).
“
The battle continues for respect for human rights, a more just and egalitarian society, which must face painful pasts with lucidity
,” wrote the French historian in a message sent to AFP.
Mr. Stora is the author of a report on the memory of colonization and the war in Algeria, submitted in January 2021 to the President of the Republic.
At the beginning of March 2021, Emmanuel Macron acknowledged, "
in the name of France
", that the nationalist lawyer Ali Boumendjel had been "
tortured and assassinated
" on March 23, 1957 by soldiers of the French army at the time of the battle of Algiers, contradicting the official thesis of a suicide.
This step was part of the series of events organized since the arrival of the Head of State in 2017 to try to "
build a peaceful and common memory
" on the colonization of Algeria and the war that led to its independence in 1962.
