ALGIERS: The fraught relationship between France and the former colony of Algeria has eased a little in the new year, but a new rift over Paris supports Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Western Sahara dispute has sent rapprochement efforts into a tailspin.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who is seeking a second term in presidential elections on September 7, was scheduled to travel to France for a state visit, but this has been rescheduled twice and is now in doubt.
Last month, Algiers withdrew its ambassador to Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron said Morocco’s autonomy plan was the only solution for the region.
Algeria, which supports the region’s pro-independence Polisario Front, denounced this as “a step that no other French government has taken”.
France colonized Algeria in 1830 and the North African country only became independent in 1962, after a war that authorities say killed more than 1.5 million Algerians.
French historians say half a million civilians and fighters died in the war for independence, 400,000 Algerians.
While France has spent years trying to heal its wounds, it has refused to “apologise or repent” during the 132 years of often brutal rule that ended a devastating eight-year war.
Experts are now accusing both countries of exploiting the war for current political purposes.
“The national narrative is about the Algerian war is still dominant and during campaigns like the presidential election, Algerians are sensitive to these issues in their internal policy choices,” Hasni Abidi of the Geneva-based CERMAM Study Center told AFP.
Abidi said Tebboune now had to “retune his election speech to protect himself from criticism of his foreign policy” after the “complete fiasco” of his failed attempt to restore relations with Macron.
-‘Reopening old wounds’-
Last week, Algeria marked the Moudjahid National Day to commemorate the war fighters with a speech by Tebboune, in which he said that France was wrong “to believe that it can block the people’s revolution with iron and fire”.
In 2022, the two countries set up a joint commission of historians to try to mend historical differences and ease tensions.
However, according to Abidi, the commission was not quick enough and “did not succeed in freeing itself from political oversight”.
The expert said France’s latest move supporting Morocco’s plan in Western Sahara “will deal another blow to the problem of memory” with the risk of “reopening old wounds and stigmas from the colonial era”.
What followed the French conquest of the Ottomans when they ruled Algiers was the destruction of the socio-economic structure, mass displacement, and the bloody suppression of several uprisings before war broke out in 1954.
This chapter in the history of the two countries has been “exploited according to current problems and interests”, historian Hosni Kitouni told AFP.
During the historians’ debate, Algeria demanded that France return the skulls of resistance fighters and historical and symbolic artifacts from 19th-century Algeria, including items belonging to Algerian anti-colonial figure Emir Abdelkader.
“These things are in a museum in France, where, from a legal point of view, their presence is illegal,” Amira Zatir, an adviser to the Emir Abdelkader Foundation, told AFP.
He said many of these items were stolen when French troops looted the emir’s library during the Battle of Smala in 1843.
Algeria is also demanding the return of original archives from the Ottoman and colonial era that were transferred to France before and after Algeria’s independence.
Algeria is seeking reparations for actions taken by its former rulers, such as the 17 nuclear tests carried out in the Sahara desert between 1960 and 1966.
Mustapha Boudina, a 92-year-old former war fighter who is now the head of the National Association of Former Death Row Prisoners, said Algeria needed more compensation.
“We must put pressure on the enemies of time to repent and ask for forgiveness” for “many crimes”, he said.
Some historians believe that recognizing French colonization as a “crime against humanity” would be more appropriate.
This is exactly what Macron described during his visit to Algiers in the middle of his presidential campaign in 2017, prompting an outcry from the French right.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who is seeking a second term in presidential elections on September 7, was scheduled to travel to France for a state visit, but this has been rescheduled twice and is now in doubt.
Last month, Algiers withdrew its ambassador to Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron said Morocco’s autonomy plan was the only solution for the region.
Algeria, which supports the region’s pro-independence Polisario Front, denounced this as “a step that no other French government has taken”.
France colonized Algeria in 1830 and the North African country only became independent in 1962, after a war that authorities say killed more than 1.5 million Algerians.
French historians say half a million civilians and fighters died in the war for independence, 400,000 Algerians.
While France has spent years trying to heal its wounds, it has refused to “apologise or repent” during the 132 years of often brutal rule that ended a devastating eight-year war.
Experts are now accusing both countries of exploiting the war for current political purposes.
“The national narrative is about the Algerian war is still dominant and during campaigns like the presidential election, Algerians are sensitive to these issues in their internal policy choices,” Hasni Abidi of the Geneva-based CERMAM Study Center told AFP.
Abidi said Tebboune now had to “retune his election speech to protect himself from criticism of his foreign policy” after the “complete fiasco” of his failed attempt to restore relations with Macron.
-‘Reopening old wounds’-
Last week, Algeria marked the Moudjahid National Day to commemorate the war fighters with a speech by Tebboune, in which he said that France was wrong “to believe that it can block the people’s revolution with iron and fire”.
In 2022, the two countries set up a joint commission of historians to try to mend historical differences and ease tensions.
However, according to Abidi, the commission was not quick enough and “did not succeed in freeing itself from political oversight”.
The expert said France’s latest move supporting Morocco’s plan in Western Sahara “will deal another blow to the problem of memory” with the risk of “reopening old wounds and stigmas from the colonial era”.
What followed the French conquest of the Ottomans when they ruled Algiers was the destruction of the socio-economic structure, mass displacement, and the bloody suppression of several uprisings before war broke out in 1954.
This chapter in the history of the two countries has been “exploited according to current problems and interests”, historian Hosni Kitouni told AFP.
During the historians’ debate, Algeria demanded that France return the skulls of resistance fighters and historical and symbolic artifacts from 19th-century Algeria, including items belonging to Algerian anti-colonial figure Emir Abdelkader.
“These things are in a museum in France, where, from a legal point of view, their presence is illegal,” Amira Zatir, an adviser to the Emir Abdelkader Foundation, told AFP.
He said many of these items were stolen when French troops looted the emir’s library during the Battle of Smala in 1843.
Algeria is also demanding the return of original archives from the Ottoman and colonial era that were transferred to France before and after Algeria’s independence.
Algeria is seeking reparations for actions taken by its former rulers, such as the 17 nuclear tests carried out in the Sahara desert between 1960 and 1966.
Mustapha Boudina, a 92-year-old former war fighter who is now the head of the National Association of Former Death Row Prisoners, said Algeria needed more compensation.
“We must put pressure on the enemies of time to repent and ask for forgiveness” for “many crimes”, he said.
Some historians believe that recognizing French colonization as a “crime against humanity” would be more appropriate.
This is exactly what Macron described during his visit to Algiers in the middle of his presidential campaign in 2017, prompting an outcry from the French right.
