Algerian delegation throws roses into the Seine River in tribute to those killed in the Paris massacre – 2024-07-27 18:37:01

International Sport

Algerian delegation throws roses into the Seine River in tribute to those killed in the Paris massacre

Almost 63 years ago, more than 200 Algerians were victims of police repression in the independence demonstrations that took place in the City of Light.

Algerian athletes pose with flags before the opening ceremony. (Photo Prensa Libre: AFP)

During the opening parade of the Olympic Games of 2024the delegation of Algeria decided to throw roses into the River Seine, in memory of the victims of the “Paris Massacre” in 1961.

“This gesture is a tribute to the martyrs of October 17, 1961“Long live Algeria!” said a member of the delegation in a video broadcast by Algeria’s public television channel.

Almost 63 years ago, more than 200 Algerians were victims of police repression in the independence demonstrations that took place in the City of Light.

The Algerian athletes made a rare gesture at such events, throwing the roses near a bridge from which French police threw the victims into the water.

Tribute to the repressed

In 1961, dozens of Algerians who were demonstrating peacefully were victims of a bloody repression carried out under the authority of the French police.

According to European historians, most of the protesters were killed and their bodies thrown into the River Seine by French police officers.

Read more: The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are officially open

The Algerian protesters were demanding independence for their country, which at that time had still been under French colonial rule for more than a hundred years.

In 2012, President François Hollande paid tribute to the victims of a bloody repression; and his successor, Emmanuel Macrondeclared in 2021 that “the crimes committed in 1961 were inexcusable for the Republic.”