Bill to Repair Harm Caused by the Forced Relocation of Minors from Réunion to Metropolitan France (1962–1984)

This bill addresses one of France's most painful colonial-era social policies: the forced relocation of 2,015 minors from the island of Réunion to depopulated rural areas of metropolitan France between 1962 and 1984, a program known as the 'Enfants de la Creuse.' These children, predominantly from disadvantaged backgrounds, were removed from their families under the auspices of social services and resettled in continental France, often losing contact with their families and cultural roots permanently. The bill proposes three main mechanisms of redress. First, it establishes a dedicated commission for memory and historical recognition to document, preserve, and publicly acknowledge the harm caused by this program. Second, it institutes a National Day of Tribute on February 18th each year to commemorate the victims. Third, it provides a lump-sum financial allocation to surviving victims as formal reparation for the physical, psychological, and cultural harm they suffered. The legislation represents a formal acknowledgment by the French state of institutional wrongdoing and aims to provide both symbolic and material justice to the individuals affected and their descendants.

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