Emmanuel Macron: Colonization was a crime against humanity

 Emmanuel Macron, the centrist French politician who is surging in the polls two months ahead of the presidential election, has been forced to defend himself after criticizing his country’s colonial past.

Macron, 39, was asked to clarify previous comments on colonization during an interview with Algerian television, broadcast on Tuesday night – a sensitive issue in a country that fought a bloody war to earn its independence from France.

“Colonization is a crime. It’s a crime against humanity. It’s truly barbarous and it’s part of a past that we need to confront by apologizing to those against whom we committed these acts,” Macron said.

“At the same time, we must not sweep this past under the rug…There’s a fitting phrase that is said about Algeria: ‘France established human rights in Algeria. It simply forgot to abide by them,’” the politician added.

Nationalist Marine Le Pen, who is polling highest of all presidential candidates, but predicted to lose to Macron if they face off in the second round, said his remarks were tantamount to treason.