"The French debate on history and memory
Friday, January 6, 2006
The French legislature has been passing laws linked to historical incidents since 1990. The first law was the Gayssot Law, which built on the 1972 Pleven Law and criminalized the denial of crimes against humanity. It was mainly aimed at those who rejected the Jewish Holocaust. There was a commotion after the passage of a law last Feb. 23 that called for textbooks to emphasize the positive role played by French colonialism. At first, this law did not attract too much attention, but later the debate grew and became the center of attention after the clashes in the French suburbs at the end of the year. On Dec. 12, 19 French historians, among whom were respected scientists such as Marc Ferro, Pierre Milza, Pierre Nora, Mona Ozouf, René Rémond, Jean-Pierre Vernant, Paul Veyne and Pierre Vidal-Naquet, released a joint statement. It called on the French legislature to annul the laws they had passed since 1990."
More:Turkish Daily News - The French debate on history and memory - Jan 06, 2006
