Emmanuel Macron said he wants to seek "forgiveness" for France’s colonisation of Madagascar, starting with the return of looted cultural artefacts, reports RFI.
During his two-day visit, the French president also announced plans to step up economic ties, including investment in a major hydroelectric dam project.
"Our presence here is not innocent, and our history has been written... with deeply painful pages," Macron said during a remembrance ceremony at the former royal palace in the capital Antananarivo on Thursday.
"Only you can make this journey of forgiveness," he said after touring the palace with Princess Fenosoa Ralandison Ratsimamanga.
"But we are creating the conditions for it, by making it possible... to mourn what is no longer."
Madagascar was under French colonial rule from 1896 until 1960, when it gained full independence.
Macron confirmed plans to return cultural items taken during colonisation, including the skull of King Toera – who was decapitated by French troops in 1897 and whose remains were taken to France as a trophy.
"These human remains belong here and nowhere else," he said.