French President recognises 1961 massacre of Algerian protesters in Paris

French President recognises 1961 massacre of Algerian protesters in Paris

ISTANBUL

French president François Hollande delivers a speech after a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Ivo Josipovic at the Elysee palace on October 9, 2012 in Paris. AFP photo

French President François Hollande has officially recognised the October 17, 1961 massacre of Algerian protesters by French police in Paris, becoming the first French head of state to acknowledge one of the murkiest episodes of Algeria’s struggle for independence from France.

Fifty-one years ago, French security forces repressed a protest organized by the National Liberation Front of Algeria against the institution of a curfew for Maghrebis in Paris and its suburbs by prefect Maurice Papon.