Apology and the Past in Contemporary France.

The article focuses on public apologies made by the French government concerning historical events and the impact it has on the reconciliation of France with its past. In 1995, former French President Jacques Chirac made an official apology for the anti-Semitic policy of France during the Vichy regime from 1940 to 1944. According to the article, this apology created a need for an official apology for the Algerian war. The article provides an analysis of these events and their historical context.