France has called Algeria’s adoption of a law declaring French colonisation a “state crime” a “hostile act", warning that it undermines efforts to restore dialogue amid an ongoing diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
After the Algerian parliament voted unanimously Wednesday to criminalise French colonisation and to demand an official apology, the French foreign ministry said the move was "manifestly hostile, both to the desire to resume Franco-Algerian dialogue and to calm, constructive work on issues of historical memory”.
Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux reiterated that France had “no intention of commenting on Algerian domestic politics”, but also said he regretted the move, pointing to French President Emmanuel Macron’s work on the memory of colonisation, notably his creation of a joint commission of French and Algerian historians.
Missing apology
In 2021 Macron acknowledged that France’s colonisation of Algeria from 1830 until 1962 was a “crime against humanity” but did not offer a formal apology.
The period was marked by large-scale deportations and mass killings – both countries disagree on how many people were killed.
Colonial history remains a major source of tension in relations between the two countries, which have deteriorated over the past months, marked in particular by the withdrawal of ambassadors and the reciprocal expulsions of diplomats.
Confavreux said that France will continue to work towards resuming dialogue with Algeria which "can respond to the main interests of France and the French people, particularly with regard to security and migration issues”.
Reconciliation?
This is the third time since 2001 that the Algerian parliament has taken up such a proposal. The apology demanded in the law would be a prerequisite for any “reconciliation of historical memory”.
However, on the right in France, any reconciliation based on an apology would be an insult, according to far right National Rally MP Philippe Ballard
“What would the reaction be if the French National Assembly were to vote a resolution condemning the massacres committed by the FLN [Algerian National Liberation Front] and demanding official apologies from the Algerian authorities?” he asked RFI.
Conservative Les Republicans Senator Max Brisson played down the significance of the vote, arguing that it lacked democratic legitimacy:
“This is not a parliament emerging from a democratic system and free elections,” he told RFI.
“The Algerian regime may pronounce as many condemnations as it wishes - it will not erase history. That history has both its dark and its lighter chapters.”
Confronting the past
On the left, politicians argue that French must confront its colonial past.
“Algeria is today an independent country and its parliament is free,” said hard left France Unbowed MP Thomas Porte.
“There is a reality: France committed crimes against humanity. France tortured, France killed. France owes apologies.”
Communist Senator Yann Brossat believes France should have already apologised, “without waiting for pressure from Algeria”.
Algerian MPs also passed an amendment that would allow the withdrawal of Algerian nationality from a dual national who commits acts deemed to undermine Algeria’s interests and security while abroad.
Dual nationality
This comes as French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who was arrested in Algiers, was sentenced in March to five years in prison for making comments about Western Sahara that Algerian authorities said undermined the country's territorial integrity.
He was freed last month after intense negotiations with Algeria by France and Germany.
Algerian Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa told the APS news agency that measure was “exceptional” and included provisions designed to prevent any “arbitrary” application.
