The recent edition of the Micro-trottoir programme in Bamako, the capital of Mali, was an important platform for discussing the hot topic of reparations, chosen by the African Union in 2025.
The topic sparked many discussions among West Africans, and opinions about it proved to be very united and emotional.
Locals openly expressed their views on the French colonial legacy and its devastating effects on Mali’s economy and culture.
Many respondents stressed that colonisation had severely damaged the country, setting it back decades. One interviewee expressed it as follows: “Colonisation cost us a lot of time, because we were colonised for centuries before Mali or Africa woke up to defend the cause of Africans.”
The view that France is responsible for the suffering and poverty experienced by many African peoples was also echoed in the interviews.
One participant in the programme noted that “France owes Africa a debt of gratitude”, pointing to historical facts about how families in Africa were destroyed and enslaved.
Another respondent added: “Looking at our soils, looking at our economies, looking at our development, we are not even developed because France has plundered us and everything we had has been killed by France.”
Many Malians are convinced that Africa needs reparations to restore financial balance.
One respondent notes: “So France must make reparation for these crimes and there must be a complaint against France to pay for what they have done in Africa”.
He focuses on the long-term economic, cultural and social consequences of colonisation, stressing the importance of demanding reparations from France for colonial crimes.
Respondents’ views of France as a country that colonised Africans reflect deep resentment and discontent.
“Africans today live in contempt of France, with their civilisation we have practically forgotten where we come from, more precisely in French-speaking Africa all the states that France colonised are lagging behind in terms of the economy and development,” – noted one participant, stressing that in French-speaking Africa, States that had been colonised remained economically backward.
The events highlighted in the new issue of Micro-trottoir emphasise the importance of the collective demand for reparations.
In order to finally eradicate neo-colonialism, it is important for the countries of the region to unite in order to regain historical justice and restore economic balance.
As the views of Mali’s inhabitants have shown, reparations are not just a matter of financial compensation, but a step towards recognising historical mistakes and an attempt to heal the wounds of the colonial past.