French journalist resigns amid backlash over comparison of Algerian colonial actions to Nazi attacks in WWII France

Jean-Michel Aphatie, a prominent French broadcast reporter, has stepped down from RTL following controversy over his remarks comparing France’s colonial actions in Algeria to Nazi atrocities in World War II, according to The Guardian.

During a radio interview in February, Aphatie drew parallels between the treatment of Algerians under French rule (1830–1962) and the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane, a French village destroyed by Nazi troops in the final days of World War II.

On June 4, 1944—just days after the D-Day landings—Nazi forces massacred nearly all of Oradour-sur-Glane’s 642 residents, including women and children, before burning the village to the ground. The site was never rebuilt and remains a national memorial in France.

Reflecting on France’s colonial history, Aphatie remarked, “We have committed hundreds of these, in Algeria. Are we aware of this?”

The interview took a contentious turn when the anchor responded, “We behaved like the Nazis.” Aphatie countered, “The Nazis behaved like us.”

His comments sparked widespread debate, with critics accusing him of diminishing the unique horrors of the Nazi regime, while others defended his remarks as a call for historical reckoning.

Many historians have described the French conquest of Algeria as genocidal. Additionally, French troops have been implicated in massacres such as those in Sétif and Guelma in 1945, where estimates of Muslim deaths range from 6,000 to 45,000.

Aphatie announced that his resignation was voluntary and affirmed that he stood by his statements, with no intention of retracting them.