Algeria’s parliament has unanimously approved legislation declaring France’s 132-year colonisation of the country a crime, formally demanding an apology and reparations from Paris in a move that deepens an already strained diplomatic relationship between the two nations.
Lawmakers rose to their feet Wednesday, draped in scarves bearing the green, white and red of Algeria’s national flag, chanting “long live Algeria” as the bill passed without opposition. The law assigns France what it calls “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused,” embedding historical accountability into Algeria’s legal framework.
Parliament Speaker Ibrahim Boughali said the vote sent “a clear message, both internally and externally, that Algeria’s national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable,” the APS state news agency reported.
The legislation catalogues what it describes as the crimes of French colonial rule, including nuclear weapons tests conducted in the Algerian desert, extrajudicial killings, physical and psychological torture, and the systematic exploitation of natural resources. It states that “full and fair compensation for all material and moral damages caused by French colonisation is an inalienable right of the Algerian state and people.”
France ruled Algeria from 1830 until independence in 1962, a period marked by mass displacement, repression and a brutal war of independence that lasted from 1954 to 1962. Algerian authorities say the conflict claimed 1.5 million lives, while French historians estimate about 500,000 deaths, the majority of them Algerian.
The vote comes amid a deepening diplomatic rift between Algiers and Paris, fueled by disputes over migration, visas, historical memory and regional politics. Analysts say the law carries no enforceable international weight but remains politically potent.
Hosni Kitouni, a researcher in colonial history at the University of Exeter, said the legislation has no binding legal effect on France. “Legally, this law has no international scope and therefore is not binding for France,” he said. “However, its political and symbolic significance is important: it marks a rupture in the relationship with France in terms of memory.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously described France’s colonisation of Algeria as a “crime against humanity,” a rare acknowledgment that was welcomed in Algiers but criticized domestically in France. Macron has stopped short of issuing a formal apology, a step Algerian leaders say is essential for reconciliation.
Asked last week about the parliamentary vote, French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux declined to comment, saying France would not weigh in on “political debates taking place in foreign countries.”
Al Jazeera reported that Algerian lawmakers framed the legislation as a response to what they see as repeated attempts to downplay or sideline colonial-era abuses. By placing demands for apology and reparations into law, Algeria is signaling that historical memory will remain central to its engagement with France.
While the measure is largely symbolic, it reinforces Algeria’s long-standing position that unresolved colonial grievances continue to shape present-day relations. Observers say the law could further complicate diplomatic normalization efforts and fuel domestic political narratives in both countries, especially as debates over colonial history remain highly charged on both sides of the Mediterranean.
Aljazeera
