Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, has said that he’ll form a committee to research French-Haitian history and the effects of the massive debt that Haiti was forced to pay for gaining its independence precisely 200 years ago.
Macron stated that the group of French and Haitian historians would make suggestions for a more “peaceful future.”
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After Haiti became independent of France in 1804, France demanded that the former colony pay 150 million gold francs, which was eventually lowered to 90 million, to make amends to French slave owners and put an end to hostilities.
The debt made Haiti one of the poorest and most unstable nations in the Americas, and it wasn’t paid off until 1947.
Haitians have expressed their ire over the debt and demanded that France pay it back.
It’s unclear if this commission will consider making monetary restitution.
While acknowledging the historical injustice of slavery in Haiti and other former colonies, French governments have refrained from engaging in substantive discourse on the repayment of the “independence debt.”
According to Macron, the debt “put a price on the freedom of a young nation, which was thus confronted, from its very inception, with the unjust force of history”.
He further noted, “Once this necessary and indispensable work has been completed, this commission will propose recommendations to both governments, so that they can learn from them and build a more peaceful future.”
Haitian author Monique Clesca claimed that France is “losing influence in the world, particularly in Africa” in an interview with Le Monde on Thursday. Its previous colonists are abandoning it.
She argued that by admitting the “injustice” of the debt, Macron might make some progress in reversing this.
“This recognition will not erase the harm that has been done, but it could ease some pain.”
Economic instability, a lack of effective governmental governance, and escalating gang warfare are now plaguing Haiti.
In 2024, gang-related violence in the Caribbean country claimed the lives of over 5,500 individuals, and over a million people abandoned their homes.
Long-delayed elections have not been organized by Haiti’s interim presidential council, which was established to restore democratic order.
