Case Explained: Algeria declares France’s colonial rule a crime in new law – Legal Perspective

Algeria’s parliament has unanimously adopted a historic law formally declaring France’s colonisation of Algeria a crime, marking a major escalation in the long-running dispute over colonial memory and responsibility between the two countries.

The legislation calls for an official apology from France and demands reparations for the immense human, material and cultural losses inflicted during more than a century of colonial rule.

The law also criminalises the glorification or justification of French colonialism, which Algerian lawmakers say led to systematic violence, repression and the deaths of at least 1.5 million Algerians during the war of independence from 1954 to 1962. Following the vote on Thursday evening, parliamentarians celebrated by waving national flags and chanting “Long live Algeria”, underscoring the symbolic weight of the decision.

According to the text of the legislation, France is held “legally responsible” for the “tragedies it caused” in Algeria. It asserts that “full and fair” compensation is an “inalienable right of the Algerian state and people”, framing reparations not as a political gesture but as a legal and moral obligation.

France invaded Algeria in 1830 and ruled the country until independence in 1962. During this period, colonial authorities confiscated land, marginalised the indigenous Muslim population, imposed forced labour, carried out mass killings and relied extensively on torture, deportations and collective punishment, particularly during the independence struggle. Entire villages were destroyed, and nuclear tests carried out by France in the Algerian Sahara in the late 1950s and early 1960s left long-term environmental and health damage that remains unresolved.

While French President Emmanuel Macron has previously described colonisation as a “crime against humanity”, he has repeatedly stopped short of issuing a formal apology or committing to reparations. His stance has faced strong resistance from far-right political forces in France, including Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN), which has consistently opposed acknowledging colonial crimes. RN figures have defended colonial rule, downplayed documented abuses and criticised initiatives aimed at reconciling historical memory.

The issue of colonial restitution has also resurfaced in recent years. Algeria has renewed demands for the return of cultural artefacts looted during the colonial era, including the 16th-century bronze cannon Baba Merzoug, taken by French forces in 1830 and currently held in Brest. France has previously returned the remains of 24 Algerian resistance fighters whose decapitated heads were taken as trophies and displayed in a Paris museum, a move that highlighted the brutality of colonial practices.

Tensions have been further fuelled by recent French visa restrictions on Algerian nationals, which Algiers views as discriminatory and politically motivated. Algerian officials argue that such measures reflect a lingering colonial mindset and contradict France’s stated commitment to building a “new partnership” with its former colony.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf has said Algeria will pursue legal and diplomatic avenues to ensure restitution and reparations, stressing that justice for colonial crimes is “neither a gift nor a favour”. Last month, Algeria hosted a conference of African states focused on reparations, positioning itself as a leading voice in a broader continental push to hold former colonial powers accountable.

Historian Benjamin Stora, a prominent specialist on French colonisation and the Algerian war of independence, said the current crisis reflects a deep and unresolved “memory problem” in France. Speaking earlier this year, Stora noted what he described as a growing “obsession with Algeria” in French political and media discourse, particularly among far-right circles, which he said revives a “colonial unconscious”.

Former Algerian diplomat and ex-minister of culture Abdelaziz Rahabi echoed this view, warning that some attitudes in France suggest a return to colonial-era thinking. In February, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune criticised the “deleterious climate” between the two countries and called on Macron to intervene personally to de-escalate tensions and confront the legacy of the past honestly.

With the passage of this law, Algeria has sent a clear signal that it intends to keep the issue of colonial accountability at the centre of its relations with France, reflecting both domestic demands for historical justice and a wider global movement pressing former colonial powers to acknowledge, apologise for and repair the damage caused by imperial rule. (ILKHA)