Chirac Supports Day to Remember Slavery

Paris — French President Jacques Chirac said on Monday he supported setting aside a day to remember slavery after a heated row about a law encouraging the positive portrayal of France’s colonial past in schoolbooks.

Chirac said it was important to look clearly at history because it could “make you stronger”.

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“Many people need an acknowledgement of this painful past that has been forgotten too often and for too long.”

Chirac’s conservative government has been involved in a row about a law passed in February that critics have said was racist.

A passage in it urged teachers to stress the “positive role of the French presence overseas, especially in North Africa”.

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