French History Politics

Marc Zitzmann reports on an appeal made by a group of French historians, including Jean-Pierre Azema, Pierre Nora, Pierre Vidal-Naquet and Michel Winock, for the French state to refrain from intervening in historical issues. They call for for the repeal of a law which rules that the positive aspects of colonialism be taught in schools, along with three other laws. "Each of these laws pertains to the treatment of historical events: namely the criminal prosecution of the denial of the Shoah, recognition of the genocide of the Armenians, and the classification of slavery and slave trading as a crime against humanity. History is neither a religion with irrefutable dogmas nor a moral issue under which actions are praised or condemned, nor is it a legal issue," they point out in their appeal.

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