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Macron Acknowledges Haiti's Colonial Indemnity as an 'Initial Injustice'

On the bicentennial of Haiti's 1825 indemnity under French duress, Macron announced a Franco-Haitian historical commission but stopped short of committing to reparations.

Emmanuel Macron le 15 avril dernier à Notre-Dame de Paris.
L'ancienne esclave affranchie devenue révolutionnaire et officière de l'armée révolutionnaire Sanité Belair (1781-1805) sur un billet de 10 gourdes haïtiennes, en 2004.
Haïti est actuellement en proie à une triple crise politique, sécuritaire et humanitaire. (Image d’illustration).
Image

Overview

  • French President Emmanuel Macron formally recognized the 1825 indemnity imposed on Haiti as an 'initial injustice' during bicentennial commemorations.
  • Macron announced the creation of a Franco-Haitian commission of historians to study the impact of the indemnity and provide recommendations for future actions.
  • The 1825 indemnity, enforced under threat of French naval force, amounted to 150 million gold francs, later reduced to 90 million, and was repaid by Haiti only in 1952.
  • The indemnity and its associated debt are widely regarded as having entrenched Haiti in a cycle of economic dependence and underdevelopment.
  • Haitian civil society and academics continue to demand financial reparations, but Macron's initiative does not currently include any commitment to restitution or compensation.