On 25 February he said on air: “Every year in France, we commemorate what happened in Oradour-sur-Glane – the massacre of an entire village. But we have committed hundreds of these, in Algeria. Are we aware of this?”

He was referring to the village where an SS unit returning to the front in Normandy massacred 642 residents on 10 June 1944. Leaving a chilling memorial for future generations, the village was never rebuilt.

Challenged by the anchor over whether “we [the French] behaved like the Nazis”, Aphatie said: “The Nazis behaved like us.”

On X, he acknowledged his comments had created a “debate” but said it was of great importance to understand the full story over France’s 1830-1962 presence in Algeria, saying he was “horrified” by what he had read in history books.

After being suspended for a week by the channel it means that “if I come back to RTL I validate this and admit to making a mistake”.