Algeria's Parliament Brands French Colonization a 'Crime', Demands Reparations in Unanimous Vote

More than sixty years after its independence, Algeria has put France's colonial past on trial. The nation's parliament unanimously passed legislation declaring France's132-year rule a crime, formally demanding an apology and reparations from Paris. The move signals a sharp escalation in tensions over historical memory between the two countries.

On Wednesday, lawmakers chanted “Long live Algeria” as they approved the bill. According to the state news agency APS, Parliament Speaker Ibrahim Boughali stated the legislation sends “a clear message, both internally and externally, that Algeria's national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable”.

Catalog of Crimes and a Demand for Compensation

The new law assigns France “legal responsibility for its colonial past” and catalogues a list of crimes, including nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, torture, and the “systematic plundering of resources”. It asserts that full compensation for all damages is an “inalienable right of the Algerian state and people”.

France's rule from 1830 to 1962 left deep scars, particularly the brutal war of independence from 1954-1962. Algeria puts the death toll from that conflict at 1.5 million.

Paris's Silence and Diplomatic Friction

French President Emmanuel Macron has previously called the colonization of Algeria a “crime against humanity” but has consistently refused to issue a formal apology, stating in 2023, “It’s not up to me to ask forgiveness.” The French foreign ministry declined to comment on the vote, saying it wouldn't engage with “political debates taking place in foreign countries”.

While analysts say the law has no binding international effect, its political and symbolic weight is significant. Hosni Kitouni, a researcher at the University of Exeter, told the AFP news agency it “marks a rupture in the relationship with France in terms of memory”. The vote comes amid a wider diplomatic crisis, inflamed since July 2024 when Paris recognized Morocco's autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara region, a move that angered Algeria.