The exact number of victims has never been definitively established, leading some activists to fear that several hundred individuals could have been killed.

On Thursday, the lower house of the French parliament passed a resolution denouncing the killing of numerous Algerians by Paris police during a crackdown on a 1961 protest advocating for Algerian independence, labeling it as "bloody and murderous repression."

France has undertaken various initiatives in recent years to confront its colonial history in Algeria. Decades of silence shrouded the extent of the massacre, but President Emmanuel Macron deemed it "inexcusable" in 2021 after years of concealment by French authorities.

The text of the resolution emphasized that the crackdown occurred "under the authority of police prefect Maurice Papon" and also called for the official commemoration of the massacre.

The bill, proposed by Greens lawmaker Sabrina Sebaihi and ruling Renaissance party MP Julie Delpech, received approval from 67 lawmakers, with 11 against.

Sebaihi stated that the vote marked the "first step" towards the "recognition of this colonial crime, the recognition of this state crime."

However, the term "state crime" does not appear in the text of the resolution, which was jointly crafted by Macron's party and the Elysee Palace.

In 2021, marking the 60th anniversary of the bloodshed, Macron acknowledged that several dozen protesters had been killed, with some bodies thrown into the River Seine. However, the exact number of victims remains unclear, leading some activists to fear that several hundred may have been killed.

"Let us spare a thought here today for these victims and their families, who have been hit hard by the spiral of violence," stated Dominique Faure, the minister for local and regional authorities, on Thursday. She highlighted past efforts to recognize the massacre.

In 2012, then-president Francois Hollande paid "tribute to the victims" of a "bloody crackdown" on men and women demonstrating for "the right to independence." The rally occurred in the final year of France's increasingly violent efforts to retain Algeria as a North African colony, amidst a bombing campaign targeting mainland France by pro-independence militants.

However, Faure expressed reservations about establishing a special day to commemorate the massacre, noting that three dates already existed to "commemorate what happened during the Algerian war." She stated, "I think it is important to let history do the work before considering a new day of commemoration specifically for the victims of October 17, 1961."

Despite several attempts over the years to reconcile with Algeria, France refuses to "apologize or repent" for the 132 years of often brutal rule that ended in 1962.