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SETIF, ALGERIA - MAY 8: A commemoration ceremony was held in Setif, Algeria, on Friday, May 8, marking the 81st anniversary of the Setif and Guelma massacres carried out by French forces in 1945.The ceremony, held in memory of the nearly 45,000 Algerian demonstrators killed in the massacres, was attended by representatives from both countries, a marching band and thousands of participants.Thousands of Algerians were killed by French soldiers in demonstrations initiated by Algerians fighting in the French ranks with the promise of independence shortly before the end of the Second World War. Violence continued in a systematic way until 1962, when Algeria gained its independence from the events known as Setif and Guelma massacre on May 8, 1945.Around 1.5 million people died in the Algerian War of Independence due to French intervention.Since 1830, it is known that France has also massacred Algerian society through cultural genocide. France destroyed 300 years of Ottoman history and Algeria's own local identity, transforming many cultural and religious works in the country at its own discretion.(Footage by Hamza Zait/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)