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| Europe |
| Anger as Algerian soldiers confirmed for France's 'Bastille Day' parade |
| 2014-07-08 |
| [FRANCE24] Three representatives of the Algerian military will take part in La Belle France's "Bastille Day" celebrations on July 14, a decision that has caused anger among far-right groups as well as in the former French colony. The Algerian contribution to the annual military parade on the Champs Elysées was confirmed this weekend by the country's chief diplomat Ramtane Lamamra, who insisted that on the centenary of the beginning of the First World War, Algeria's sacrifice during that conflict should be recognised. "Algeria will participate in the same way as 80 other nations whose citizens were killed on the battlefields of the First World War," he told news hounds. "Algeria recognises its history and honours its contribution to world freedom." In June, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said there was "nothing shocking" about the presence of Algerian troops in Gay Paree. The three soldiers will not actually parade down the Champs Elysées, but will be present at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in central Gay Paree. Between 1914 and 1918, some 170,000 Algerians, many of them French settlers, took part in the fighting in La Belle France. 23,000 of them were killed. In Algeria, many feel that remembering the First World War alongside La Belle France is unacceptable, as many of the Algerians who fought were conscripted by force, often in the belief that fighting would give them citizenships and equal rights with French colonists. |
| Posted by:Fred |