Amid tensions between the two countries, Algerian lawmakers have begun deliberating a bill that would criminalize France’s colonization of North Africa, according to the People’s National Assembly.
French colonial rule in Algeria lasted more than 130 years and was marked by torture, enforced disappearances, massacres, economic exploitation, and marginalization of indigenous Muslims.
Algeria gained independence from France in 1962, but this came at a huge human cost. Up to 1.5 million people are believed to have been killed, thousands missing, and millions more displaced.
Here’s what we know about the bill:
What do we know about this bill?
A bill criminalizing French colonial rule in Algeria from 1830 to 1962 was submitted to Algeria’s lower house, the National Assembly, on Saturday.
The bill is expected to be voted on Wednesday, according to reports.
Public broadcaster AL24 News reported that the draft, which has five chapters and 27 articles, is based on “principles of international law that affirm people’s right to legal redress” and “the realization of historical justice.”
It aims to “establish responsibility for the crimes of colonialism and ensure recognition and apology as a basis for reconciliation with history and the protection of national memory,” the agency reported.
What did the speaker say?
Introducing the bill, President Ibrahim Bougali said that it is not just a legal article, but a “definitive milestone in the path of modern Algeria.”
“This is a supreme act of sovereignty, a clear moral position and a clear political message, expressing Algeria’s commitment to its inalienable rights and its loyalty to the sacrifices of its people,” Bugari said, according to Anadolu Agency.
He noted that France’s colonization of the country was “not limited to the plunder of wealth.”
“It also extended to systematic policies of poverty, hunger and exclusion aimed at crushing the will of the Algerian people, erasing their identity and severing ties with their… roots,” he said.
How did France react?
The French government has not yet responded to this argument.
However, French President Emmanuel Macron has previously said he will not apologize for colonization.
He told Le Point magazine in 2023 that he would not ask Algeria for forgiveness, but would work toward reconciliation with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
“It’s not my responsibility to ask for forgiveness,” he said in an interview, according to AFP news agency.
“The worst thing would be for them to decide to apologize and go their separate ways,” Macron said. “Addressing memory and history doesn’t solve everything.”
What do we know about France’s colonial history in Algeria?
France ruled Algeria from 1830 until it was forced out as a colonial power in a brutal war of independence that lasted from 1954 to 1962.
Approximately 1.5 million Algerians were killed in the war, and the French military was accused of gross human rights violations and war crimes, including systematic torture, summary executions, and enforced disappearances. French colonial forces also destroyed thousands of villages and forcibly displaced approximately 2 million Algerians.
In 2018, France admitted responsibility for systematic torture during the war.
How is the relationship between France and Algeria?
Algeria and France maintain an enduring relationship, particularly through immigration, but the parliamentary debate is taking place amid frictions in the relationship.
Tensions have been high for months since Paris approved Morocco’s autonomy plan to resolve the Western Sahara conflict in July 2024. An armed rebellion has been occurring in Western Sahara since it was annexed by Morocco in 1975 after its colonial power, Spain, seceded from the territory.
Algeria supports the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination in Western Sahara and backs the Polisario Front, which rejects Moroccan autonomy proposals.
Tensions escalated to a crisis in April when an Algerian diplomat was arrested in Paris along with two other Algerians. The diplomatic crisis comes just a week after Mr Macron and Mr Tebboune announced their determination to revive dialogue.
