🔗 Share this article Algeria Enacts Law Labeling France's Colonisation a Criminal Act The Algerian legislature has passed with full support a law stating France’s colonisation of the country a criminal act and called for an official apology and compensation. Lawmakers, donning scarves in the colours of the Algerian flag, chanted ‘vive l'Algérie’ as they applauded the passage of the legislation. Legislators, gathered in parliament wearing scarves in the colors of the Algerian flag, shouted “vive l'Algérie” on the session day as they applauded the approval of the bill, which states that France holds “accountability for its history of colonisation in Algeria and the tragedies it caused”. A Diplomatic Crisis and a Symbolic Move The both nations are locked in a significant bilateral dispute and analysts note that while Algeria’s action is mostly symbolic, it is still a major political statement. “a clear message, both domestically and internationally, that Algeria’s national memory is not erasable nor subject to negotiation.” The law lists the “atrocities of French colonisation”, which include nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, “torture” and the “systematic plundering of resources”. Call for Compensation It asserts that “complete and just compensation for all material and moral harms caused by French colonisation is an inalienable right of the state and its people”. France’s rule over Algeria from the 19th century until independence was a era characterized by mass killings and forced displacements, all the way up to the bloody independence war from the mid-1950s to 1962. Algeria states the conflict killed 1.5 million lives. French historians estimate the fatalities at 500,000 in all, 400,000 of them from Algeria. French Response and Historical Perspective The head of state, President Macron, has previously acknowledged the colonial era of Algeria as a “crime against humanity” but has declined to offer an apology. Asked recently about the parliamentary decision, a diplomatic representative said he would not comment on “political debates taking place in foreign countries”. A researcher in colonial history, said that “from a legal standpoint, this legislation has no international scope and therefore is not enforceable for France”. However, “its diplomatic and emblematic importance is considerable: it signifies a break in the relationship with France in terms of memory,” he said.