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Most
of the "Senegalese tirailleurs" are now elderly people in their
eighties or nineties. Getty Images/AFP
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France's President
Francois Hollande has pledged to support the campaign for citizenship by
Africans who fought for France during the Second World War.
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The
plight of the "Senegalese tirailleurs" has been an issue for
successive presidents in Senegal. AFP
|
Mr
Hollande's pledge comes in the wake of a petition initiated by the mayor of a
small town in France, Aissatou Seck, who is of Senegalese origin.
President
Hollande, after hosting Senegalese President Macky Sall in Paris, said:
I
asked for clear instructions to be given so that they would be provided all
possible assistance for being granted French citizenship.
[But]
it will be up to them to introduce their request and we intend to express our
recognition."
Africans
formed a colonial battalion within the French army and were recruited from the
colonies France controlled at the time in West Africa.
For
many years, there had been complaints that they were treated less favourably
than their native French counterparts and that led to French officials boosting
their pensions.
While
most of the soldiers were sent back home after their discharge, Mrs Seck says
that about 1,000 of them live in France, on about €700 (US$730; £600) a
month.
These veterans will qualify
for citizenship, if Mr Hollande sticks to his promise.
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