Regards sur l’Algérie en guerre

In June 2024, the President of Gabon’s transitional government and France’s Secretary of State to the Minister for the Armed Forces paid tribute to Captain N’Tchoréré—an officer of the 53rd RICMS [Senegalese colonial infantry regiment] who died for France in Airaines (Somme) in June 1940. The officer’s career was somewhat unusual: he started out as an indigenous man and went on to become a French citizen. This figurehead of France’s colonial troops was killed in combat at Airaines, where a monument has since been erected in his name. But how exactly did he perish? Today, the prevailing theory is that he fell victim to a racist crime perpetrated by the German army. However, his remains were never found and his family only gained recognition much later on. Shouldn’t Charles N’Tchoréré— as well as many other soldiers from Africa and overseas territories—serve as an example for our armies today?