In the depths of history, certain pages resist closure, leaving lingering shadows that haunt collective consciences. Algeria, a nation forged in the flames of unyielding resistance, is poised to engrave in its national legislation a solemn condemnation of French colonialism. Carried by a cross-party coalition of deputies, this proposed law—scheduled for plenary debates in the People’s National Assembly (APN) on December 20, 21, and 24, 2025—designates the 132 years of occupation (1830-1962) as an “imprescriptible state crime.” It assigns full legal responsibility to France for a litany of crimes against humanity, demanding official recognition, apologies, and reparations.
At the core of this text, organized into rigorous chapters—defining objectives, cataloguing violations, mechanisms of historical justice—lies a documented roster of some thirty atrocities: mass killings, summary executions, forced displacements, systematic plundering of resources, attempts at cultural alienation, and deprivation of the Algerian people’s most basic political, human, economic, and social rights. The drafters emphasize enduring consequences, from nuclear tests in the Sahara to antipersonnel mines whose dissemination maps Paris still withholds. The project draws on international law, invoking imprescriptible principles from UN conventions and recent African Union resolutions, notably those from February 2025 recognizing colonialism as a crime against humanity.
This initiative is no isolated legislative whim but the culmination of a protracted journey. Revived in March 2025 by an ad hoc commission under APN Speaker Ibrahim Boughali, it responds to a moral duty toward the Revolution’s martyrs and the imperative to safeguard national memory against falsification. It marks a break from failed attempts in prior decades, often stymied by diplomatic considerations. Today, amid France’s persistent evasion of full acknowledgment of colonial tragedies, Algeria asserts its sovereign right to legislate its past, as other liberated peoples have done under imperial yokes.
A Political Analysis: Implications for Franco-Algerian Relations
Politically, this law embeds itself in a bilateral relationship already frayed by chronic memory disputes. Six decades post-independence, ties between Algiers and Paris oscillate between pragmatic cooperation—trade, energy, migration—and recurring crises, often inflamed by French statements perceived as denialist or by nationalist escalations on both sides. The likely adoption of this “historic” text, as termed by Algerian parliamentarians, risks ushering in a new phase of tensions, perhaps even partial rupture.
First, it crystallizes Algeria’s rejection of any “equality between victim and perpetrator,” in the deputies’ words. By criminalizing not only past acts but potentially their glorification, the law could prohibit or penalize in Algeria any apologia for colonialism, complicating cultural or academic exchanges. More tangibly, it paves the way for international judicial claims: full restitution of archives, maps of contaminated sites, compensation for victims of nuclear tests and mines. These demands, legitimate under international law, will inevitably clash with French sensitivities, where debates on colonial repentance deeply divide society—from far-right denial of crimes to left-wing advocacy for recognition.
Diplomatic fallout could be swift and profound. Amid already strained relations—migration crises, disputes over Western Sahara, mutual accusations of bad faith—this law bolsters Algeria’s stance as uncompromising guardian of its memory, forging national consensus around the leadership. In Paris, it may provoke defensive reactions: official condemnations of “instrumentalizing the past,” potential retaliatory measures on visas or economic accords, and hardening domestic discourse fueling narratives of Algerian “anti-Frenchism.”
Yet, paradoxically, this confrontation could carve a path to genuine catharsis. By compelling France to confront its past unambiguously, it invites reconciliation grounded not in amnesia but in shared truth. Emmanuel Macron’s unilateral gestures—acknowledging isolated crimes—will prove inadequate against a now-codified Algerian demand. In the long term, such a law could accelerate transitional justice processes, akin to those elsewhere, fostering a serene relationship freed from unburied ghosts.
Ultimately, this legislative proposal transcends the legal realm: it is a politic act of sovereignty, an elegant affirmation of a people’s reclaimed dignity. It reminds us that history is no frozen inheritance but a living dialogue between past and future. If it heightens short-term tensions, it lays foundations for a mature Franco-Algerian relationship where mutual recognition prevails over accumulated resentments. Algeria, in criminalizing colonialism, seeks not vengeance but justice—that eternal virtue elevating nations above their wounds.
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