In a historic and unanimous vote, Algeria's parliament has formally declared France's colonial rule over the country a 'state crime', demanding an official apology and financial reparations. The landmark legislation, passed on Wednesday, marks a significant escalation in the ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two nations over their shared, painful history.
A Unanimous Vote for Historical Justice
Lawmakers in the National Assembly in Algiers stood and chanted "long live Algeria" as they approved the bill, many wearing scarves in the nation's green, white, and red colours. The legislation asserts that France holds "legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused". The parliament speaker, Ibrahim Boughali, stated the vote sent a clear message that "Algeria's national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable".
The new law catalogues a series of alleged crimes committed during the colonial period. These include extrajudicial killings, systematic torture, the plundering of natural resources, and the conducting of nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara. It firmly states that "full and fair compensation for all material and moral damages" is an inalienable right for the Algerian state and its people.
The Weight of a 132-Year Colonial Past
France's colonial rule in Algeria lasted from 1830 until 1962, a period characterised by violence, mass displacement, and cultural suppression. The conflict culminated in a brutal war of independence fought between 1954 and 1962. The human cost remains a point of stark disagreement: Algerian officials state that 1.5 million people lost their lives, while many French historians estimate the total death toll at around 500,000, with 400,000 being Algerian.
While French President Emmanuel Macron has previously described the colonisation of Algeria as a "crime against humanity", his government has stopped short of issuing the formal apology that Algeria now legally demands. Reacting to the parliamentary vote, a French foreign ministry spokesperson declined to comment on "political debates taking place in foreign countries".
Symbolic Power Versus Legal Force
Analysts note that while the Algerian law carries profound political and symbolic weight, its international legal enforceability is limited. Hosni Kitouni, a colonial history researcher at the University of Exeter, explained that legally, the statute has no binding power over France. However, he emphasised its critical symbolic significance, stating it "marks a rupture in the relationship with France in terms of memory".
This move aligns with a broader push across the African continent for former colonial powers to acknowledge historical crimes and consider reparations. The law solidifies Algeria's official position, transforming long-held grievances into a formal state doctrine and setting a new benchmark for future negotiations and diplomatic discourse with Paris.
The passage of this bill ensures that the legacy of French colonisation will remain a central and officially defined issue in the complex relationship between Algiers and Paris for the foreseeable future.
