The proposed legislation comes amid a deepening diplomatic crisis between Algiers and Paris, with analysts noting that while the move is largely symbolic, it carries strong political weight and sharpens Algeria’s long-standing demand for historical accountability.
Algeria’s parliament is set to vote on Wednesday on a bill demanding a formal apology and reparations from France by declaring its colonisation of the North African country a “state crime.”
The proposed legislation comes amid a deepening diplomatic crisis between Algiers and Paris, with analysts noting that while the move is largely symbolic, it carries strong political weight and sharpens Algeria’s long-standing demand for historical accountability.
According to a draft of the bill seen by AFP, the law states that France bears “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused,” reinforcing Algeria’s call for an official apology and reparations for more than a century of colonial rule.
Parliament speaker Brahim Boughali described the proposed legislation as “a sovereign act,” in remarks carried by the APS state news agency. He said it sends “a clear message, both internally and externally, that Algeria’s national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable.”
France colonized Algeria from 1830 until independence in 1962, a period that continues to cast a long shadow over bilateral relations. French rule was marked by mass killings, forced displacement and repression, culminating in the brutal war of independence between 1954 and 1962.
Algeria estimates that 1.5 million people were killed during the war, while French historians put the overall death toll at about 500,000, including 400,000 Algerians.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously acknowledged the colonization of Algeria as a “crime against humanity,” but has stopped short of issuing a formal apology — a position that has remained a major point of contention for Algerian authorities.
Reacting to the planned vote last week, French foreign ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said he would not comment on “political debates taking place in foreign countries.”
Hosni Kitouni, a researcher in colonial history at the University of Exeter in the UK, said that “legally, this law has no international scope and therefore is not binding for France.” However, he stressed that “its political and symbolic significance is important: it marks a rupture in the relationship with France in terms of memory.”