A highly symbolic message on the day of the film’s release Skirmishers, by Mathieu Vadepied. Former Senegalese riflemen, these soldiers recruited in the former French colonies, will be able to return definitively to their country, while continuing to perceive their minimum old age, revealed France Info.
About “twenty files” have been validated by the Ministry of Solidarity “at this stage”. Until now, to receive their allowance of 950 euros, these men, mostly over the age of 90, had to reside at least six months in France.
Forty people identified by the Office of Veterans
However, this government decision does not concern the CAF or the invalidity pension. The Association for the Memory of Senegalese Riflemen, which is carrying this case, wants this to change as well.
These very old men, having mainly fought in Indochina and Algeria, will therefore be able to return to their country of origin, mainly Senegal, but also Mali and Mauritania. They are about forty, according to the Office of Veterans Affairs. However, for Aïssata Seck, president of the association for the memory of Senegalese riflemen, this figure is underestimated, since they would actually be “a little less than 80”, declared this activist to BFMTV.
More than 30,000 African soldiers killed during the Great War
Who are the Senegalese Tirailleurs? Created by imperial decree in 1857 by Napoleon III, this corps of African soldiers was originally “a battalion of 500 men, two-thirds [étaient] former slaves”, explained in November to 20 minutes historian Anthony Guyon, author of the book History of the Senegalese skirmishers.
Then, over the years, its numbers have swelled. In the First World War alone, 200,000 of these soldiers fought. More than 30,000 African soldiers died on European soil during the Great War. A few years later, around 175,000 Africans fought for the liberation of France from Nazi occupation. “The corps of skirmishers then disappeared between 1958 and 1962, as the countries of sub-Saharan Africa obtained their independence,” explains the historian.
However, despite their commitment to France, the Senegalese skirmishers and their children still suffer from a lack of recognition. “Their disability pension is still not at the level of French pensions,” said Aïssata Seck.