海角大神

For many in the cinema鈥檚 audience, 鈥淭irailleurs,鈥� a tale about African soldiers who fought for France during World War I, is familiar. After all, they are the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of tirailleurs 蝉茅苍茅驳补濒补颈蝉 鈥� Senegalese colonial infantry聽鈥� and聽heard their war stories throughout their childhood.

But for Gorgui M鈥橞odji, it was more than just familiar. He lived it.

鈥淓verything in the film聽鈥� the trenches, the fortification walls聽鈥� I saw that!鈥� he says, bounding from his chair as a dozen military medals jingle against his chest.

Born in Senegal in 1933, Mr. M鈥橞odji fought as a聽tirailleur in both the First Indochina War and the Algerian War. But today, the contributions of Mr. M鈥橞odji and his comrades in arms to French history are lost on a majority of the French public.聽Even if they represented around 200,000 troops in World War I and continued fighting for the French army until the end of the war in Algeria in 1962, their presence in school history books is slim.

Today, only a few tirailleurs remain. But between a blockbuster film and recent political gains聽鈥� in particular the right to聽receive their military pensions without meeting onerous residency requirements 鈥� there is hope that this will be a critical moment for France to revisit an important piece of its history. That would offer an opportunity for a multilayered dialogue about how the country can properly transmit the collective memory of its colonial past and do right by those who risked their lives to maintain French dominance.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in a place now where we can open that door, expose and challenge injustices,鈥� says former Justice Minister 海角大神e Taubira, in Bondy. 鈥淔rance would not be what it is today without this story. [The film] is a pedagogical tool to teach the next generation. We can鈥檛 keep them away from history.鈥�

France鈥檚 colonial troops

The tirailleurs 蝉茅苍茅驳补濒补颈蝉 were formed in 1857 by Gen. Louis Faidherbe in an effort to strengthen France鈥檚 military. Known at the time as the 鈥淏lack army,鈥� the colonial soldiers were first recruited from Senegal, and later across all of French colonial sub-Saharan Africa.

As well as fighting during World War I 鈥� when 30,000 died 鈥� around 140,000 African soldiers fought under the French flag in World War II. During the First Indochina and Algerian wars, the tirailleurs represented 16% and 5% of the French army respectively, before their corps was dissolved in 1962 with the end of French colonial rule.

While the tirailleurs eventually lived and fought alongside French soldiers, they 鈥� like all Africans from the colonies 鈥� did not have the same rights as French citizens. In WWI and WWII, they wore a distinct uniform and were billeted in separate sleeping quarters. Considered 鈥渓ess intelligent鈥� than French soldiers, they were most often sent to the front lines 鈥� accounting for their extraordinary loss of life in combat.

And yet, historians say it would be inaccurate to paint a picture of all tirailleurs as victims.

鈥沦辞尘别 tirailleurs were conscripted, at times violently, but others joined voluntarily,鈥� says Claire Miot, a history professor at Sciences Po in Aix-en-Provence. 鈥淭丑别re was prestige in joining the army 鈥� you ate and lived relatively well. Certain tirailleurs wanted to save the homeland. All types of situations existed.鈥�

鈥淪till, the tirailleurs were colonized peoples, used for the purposes of colonizing and oppressing others,鈥� says Dr. Miot. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the true paradox lies.鈥�

Nonetheless, dissent within the ranks was relatively rare. Even during the Algerian War, when some questioned the tirailleurs鈥� allegiance to France, loyalty rarely wavered.

鈥淭丑别re were fears that there would be a kind of Muslim solidarity between the tirailleurs and the Algerians, but this never happened,鈥� says French historian Anthony Guyon. 鈥淭丑别y were fully integrated into the French army and fought to win French territory. But later, they weren鈥檛 given the same recognition.鈥�

Second-class soldiers

Once France鈥檚 African colonies gained their independence in the early 1960s, the tirailleurs were sent home and left in administrative limbo. While some stayed in their home countries, other settled in France; none of them received a pension more than half as big as their French comrades in arms.

It wasn鈥檛 until 2006, on the back of the film 鈥淚ndig猫nes鈥� 鈥� which recounts the story of North African soldiers who fought for France in WWI 鈥� that President Jacques Chirac rectified that.

But despite their service to the country, the tirailleurs were still not officially French. It took the persistent work of Bondy politician Aissata Seck, herself the granddaughter of a Senegalese tirailleur, to push for that right. In 2016, then-President Fran莽ois Hollande finally granted聽28 former tirailleurs聽French nationality.

Even then, the former tirailleurs were required to live at least half the year in France to be eligible for their pensions. That put veterans like Mr. M鈥橞odji in a situation where he spends half the year in Senegal and the other half here in Bondy, a suburb of Paris, where he lives in a men鈥檚 hostel with a half-dozen other tirailleur veterans. They each have a 32-square-foot bedroom with a toilet and share a kitchen. 鈥淚n Senegal, we have a big house, family to help cook and shop. ... Here we have to do everything ourselves,鈥� says Mr. M鈥橞odji. 鈥淓veryone is very nice to us, but it鈥檚 difficult for us here. We鈥檙e old and tired.鈥�

On Jan. 5, Mr. M鈥橞odji and his fellow veterans聽鈥� of whom there are around 40 still living across France聽鈥� won a victory. Just as 鈥淭irailleurs鈥� hit cinema screens, the French government announced that it would finally allow the former soldiers to receive their 鈧�950 ($1,030) a month French pensions even if they lived in their countries of origin.

鈥淔rance has trouble dealing with this part of history because it brings up a lot of shame: men who were forced to fight 鈥� and died 鈥� for a territory that wasn鈥檛 theirs,鈥� says Ms. Seck. 鈥淏ut this is part of our history and even though it鈥檚 tragic, we must commemorate these men and women. We need to constantly challenge politicians and remind them of the importance of their story.鈥�

That has meant providing justice for the tirailleurs聽at both an administrative and a symbolic level. Though it has been slow, recognition is coming. Last year, a nonprofit in聽Paris staged a monthslong exhibition dedicated to the tirailleurs, and in March, the Porte de Clignancourt intersection will be named after them.

鈥淩emember us鈥�

Director Mathieu Vadepied says he hopes his film can help pull the tirailleurs鈥� story out of the shadows and serve as an educational tool for young people. In France, where questions of identity and a sense of belonging have been at the heart of turmoil in recent years among children from post-colonial Africa, 鈥淭irailleurs鈥� provides an opportunity to shift mainstream discourse.

鈥淭丑别 tirailleurs鈥� story might not be well known in France, but for most African families, we know someone who fought,鈥� says Kinsi Agbangbe, in Bondy, whose great-grandfather left Benin to fight for France in WWI. 鈥淚n Africa, our stories are shared orally; they鈥檙e not written down, so they get lost. What we read in history books should be written by those who lived the experiences, but this isn鈥檛 always the case.鈥�

At the end of the film, star Omar Sy鈥檚 haunting voice resonates across a black screen: 鈥淩emember us.鈥� It鈥檚 a message that the remaining tirailleurs, four of whom attended the film screening at the Bondy cinema, hope the French public will retain.

But for now, 95-year-old Yoro Diao is focused on the near future and spending his remaining years in his native Senegal.

鈥淚 have enjoyed living in France. I grew up feeling French,鈥� says Mr. Diao, in a stiff black suit and white Kufi hat. 鈥淏ut I have my wife, 12 children, grandchildren, all back home. And there is some nostalgia for them to see their grandpa.鈥�