Algeria Declares French Colonization a Crime, Seeks Reparations

Algiers, Algeria – Algeria’s parliament has unanimously passed a law declaring France‘s colonization of the country a crime, intensifying tensions between the two nations and calling for an official apology and reparations. The vote took place on Wednesday, with lawmakers wearing national flag-colored scarves and chanting, “long live Algeria.”

The new legislation states that France holds “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused.” Speaking after the vote, parliament speaker Ibrahim Boughali told the state news agency APS that this action sends “a clear message, both internally and externally, that Algeria’s national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable.”

In detailing the “crimes of French colonization,” the law cites nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, physical and psychological torture, and the systematic plundering of resources. It asserts that “full and fair compensation for all material and moral damages caused by French colonization is an inalienable right of the Algerian state and people.”

From 1830 to 1962, France ruled Algeria, a period marked by mass killings and large-scale deportations, culminating in the bloody war of independence from 1954 to 1962. Algeria asserts that the conflict claimed 1.5 million lives, while French historians estimate a total death toll of approximately 500,000, including 400,000 Algerians.

French President Emmanuel Macron has previously called the colonization a “crime against humanity” but has not offered a formal apology. Responding last week, French foreign ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux declined to comment on “political debates taking place in foreign countries.”

Expert Hosni Kitouni, a researcher at the University of Exeter, stated that while the law lacks binding international authority, its symbolic and political implications are significant. “It marks a rupture in the relationship with France in terms of memory,” he said.

This development comes amid a diplomatic crisis and calls for transparency and justice regarding France’s colonial actions. Algeria also recently demanded the return of a 16th Century bronze cannon taken during colonization, further complicating diplomatic relations.

As of now, France has not officially responded to the parliamentary vote, which aligns with a broader context of growing international pressure on Western nations to address historical injustices related to colonialism.