By Rezo Nodwes, Sept. 28, 2024
Emmanuel Macron was asked about the colossal debt imposed by France on Haiti in 1825 while visiting Montreal on September 26. Canadian writer Yves Engler confronted the French president, asking him when France would repay this “independence debt”. Macron, visibly uncomfortable, did not respond directly, and was quickly escorted out by his security detail.
Edgard Leblanc Fils, President of Haiti's Presidential Transitional Council, also spoke about this debt at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. He denounced this “ransom imposed under threat”, which has plunged Haiti into a cycle of impoverishment from which it is still struggling to emerge. Fils called for recognition of this historic injustice, demanding just reparations to free Haiti from the “invisible chains” of the past.
This debate once again raises the issue of colonial plundering which continues to stain Franco-Haitian relations.
Translated by CHIP editors
Posted Oct. 7, 2024