Presidential hopeful David Lisnard dismisses 1961 Algerian killings on live TV
During an LCI interview, presidential candidate David Lisnard brushed off questions about the 1961 police killings of Algerians, saying he was indifferent.
During a live broadcast on LCI, presidential contender David Lisnard, who also serves as Cannes mayor and president of the Association des maires de France, grew visibly upset when a La France insoumise-linked student asked him to describe the 1961 police killings of Algerian demonstrators. Lisnard replied that he was indifferent, noting he was not born at the time and that Algeria’s independence had already been achieved.
He further suggested his Algerian friends had accepted that the country had moved beyond the episode, and later qualified the event as serious but not his current concern while referencing recent unrest in French cities. Historians estimate that between thirty and two hundred protesters were killed and their bodies thrown into the Seine under the authority of Prefect Maurice Papon. The French National Assembly in 2024 adopted a resolution condemning the massacre, and President Emmanuel Macron subsequently honored the victims, calling the acts unacceptable for the Republic.
Why it matters
The gaffe highlights how French presidential candidates handle sensitive colonial history, influencing voter perception.
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