The French President, Emmanuel Macron, receives at the Elysée Palace, Friday April 14 in the morning, nine former Senegalese riflemen living in France and who have decided to return to their country of origin thanks to exceptional financial aid from the French State. “Aged 85 to 90, they have chosen to return to Senegal in the coming days,” said the French presidency. “The President of the Republic will pay tribute to their commitment to France,” she added.
The aid put in place, the amount of which has not been disclosed, is intended to finance their return trip and their resettlement in their country of origin. The Veterans Affairs Secretariat estimates the number of tirailleurs, all Senegalese, living in France at 37. These people, who have long suffered from a lack of recognition from France, are mostly alone.
Created under the Second Empire (1852-1870) and dissolved in the early 1960s, the French Corps of “Senegalese Tirailleurs” brought together soldiers born in the former French colonies in Africa and enlisted in the French army. The term came to refer to all soldiers from sub-Saharan Africa who fought under the French flag, regardless of their nationality or country of origin. They took part in the Second World War and the wars of decolonization, notably in Indochina and Algeria.
