France’s president says that making Haiti pay for its independence was unjust

PARIS (AP) - French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that historic injustice was imposed on Haiti when it was forced to pay a colossal indemnity to France in exchange for its independence 200 years ago.

Macron also announced the creation of a joint French-Haitian historical commission to ''examine our shared past” and assess relations, but did not directly address longstanding Haitian demands for reparations.

France ″subjected the people of Haiti to a heavy financial indemnity, … This decision placed a price on the freedom of a young nation, which was thus confronted with the unjust force of history from its very inception,” Macron said in a statement.

It comes on the 200th anniversary of the April 17, 1825 document issued by King Charles X of France, which recognized Haiti's independence after a slave revolt - but also imposed a 150 million gold francs debt as compensation for the loss of France's colony and enslaved labor force.

Although the indemnity was later reduced to 90 million gold francs, the debt crippled the Caribbean nation, which continued to pay it off through French and American banks until 1947. Economists estimate it’s the equivalent of billions of dollars today.

Experts have said Haiti's current situation can be traced back to its past. Gangs have flourished in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with a growing number of children becoming members as families struggle to find food.

Violence has surged since last year, with gangs that control 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, attacking new communities daily in a bid to control even more territory. More than 5,600 people were reported killed last year, with gang violence leaving more than one million people homeless in recent years.

″Acknowledging the truth of history means refusing to forget or erase it,″ Macron said.

The new commission will be made up of historians from both countries, and will aim to propose recommendations to both governments, ''so that they can learn from them and build a more peaceful future.″

Since taking office in 2017, Macron has already addressed France's role in past colonial conflicts, including in Algeria, Cameroon, and Rwanda.

Over the years, French governments have acknowledged the historic wrong of slavery in Haiti and other former colonies but like other former colonial powers have resisted calls for reparations.