As colonial subjects, tirailleurs (infantry men) were not awarded the same pensions as their French (European) fellow soldiers during and after World War II. This discrimination led to a mutiny of Senegalese tirailleurs at Camp Thiaroye on 31 November 1944. The tirailleurs involved were former prisoners of war who had been repatriated to West Africa and placed in a holding camp awaiting discharge. They demonstrated in protest against the failure of the French authorities to pay salary arrears and discharge allowances. The following day French soldiers guarding the camp opened fire killing thirty-five African soldiers. The provisional government of Charles de Gaulle, concerned at the impact of the Tiaroye incident on serving tirailleurs acted quickly to ensure that claims for back pay and o