Algiers: Algeria’s parliament has unanimously approved landmark legislation branding France’s colonisation of the country a crime and formally calling for an apology and reparations.
The vote on Wednesday was marked by a rare show of unity. Lawmakers rose to their feet in the chamber, many draped in scarves bearing the national colours, as applause echoed and chants celebrating Algeria rang out. The bill declares that France bears legal responsibility for the harm inflicted during more than a century of colonial rule and for the lasting damage left in its wake.
Parliament speaker Ibrahim Boughali said the decision was intended to send a firm message that Algeria’s historical memory cannot be erased or bargained away, either at home or abroad. While analysts note the law is largely symbolic, they say its political meaning is hard to ignore at a time when diplomatic ties with Paris are already under severe strain.
The legislation lays out what it describes as the crimes of French colonisation, citing nuclear testing, extrajudicial killings, widespread physical and psychological torture, and the systematic exploitation of Algeria’s resources. It states that full and fair compensation for both material and moral losses is an inalienable right of the Algerian state and its people.
France ruled Algeria from 1830 until independence in 1962, a period scarred by repression and violence that culminated in a brutal eight-year war of independence. Algerian authorities say 1.5 million people were killed in the conflict, while French historians estimate the death toll at about 500,000, most of them Algerian.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously described the colonisation of Algeria as a crime against humanity, but has stopped short of offering a formal apology. Asked about the Algerian vote last week, France’s foreign ministry declined to comment, saying it would not intervene in political debates taking place in another country.
Historians say the law carries no legal force beyond Algeria’s borders, but its symbolism is powerful. Hosni Kitouni, a specialist in colonial history, said the measure represents a clear break in how Algeria frames its relationship with France, particularly on questions of memory and historical responsibility.
