Algeria, France in 'worst crisis' since independence

Algeria and France are currently experiencing their worst crisis since the former French colony won independence in 1962, said the author of a landmark report on France's legacy in the north African nation.

It will take painstaking work, including on historical grievances, to restore trust, Benjamin Stora, one of the world's leading experts on French-Algerian history, added in an interview with AFP.

Atrocities committed by both sides during the 1954-1962 Algerian war of independence have long strained relations -- even half a century later.

But the last months have seen a particular spike in ill feeling after President Emmanuel Macron in July 2024 backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front.

Ties soured further when Algeria arrested and jailed French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in November on national security charges.

French authorities have arrested Algerian influencers in France on terror propaganda charges while there have been tit-for-tat expulsions of officials working in both countries.

Bilateral ties are enduring their "most significant crisis since Algeria's independence in 1962", Stora told AFP.

Stora said that the crisis has set in for a long duration as on both sides there are "people and organizations that have a vested interest in things not always going very well".

He added that while work on the historical memory of French colonization of Algeria is "indispensable", it will not be enough on its own to extricate Paris and Algiers from the "unprecedented" crisis.

And in terms of history, a shadow is cast in Algeria not just by the violations committed by French forces during the war of independence but also massacres carried out in the early years of colonization from 1830 to 1880 that are little known in France.

"It goes back very far. We are talking about six generations," he said.

- 'Ghost in the cupboard' -

On Macron's move over Western Sahara, he added: "Perhaps this should have been discussed. That wasn't the case... Unfortunately, we have settled into this misunderstanding.

"We must be patient and move forward step by step with the political will to resolve the situation."

Stora in January 2021 presented a report to Macron describing a "never-ending memory war" between the former colonial power and colony.

He proposed the creation of a mixed French-Algerian "memory and truth commission" that would hear testimony from all sides and drive efforts at reconciliation.

Macron, the first president born after the colonial period, has gone further than any of his predecessors in recognizing crimes committed by French forces.

In his latest gesture in November, Macron acknowledged that Larbi Ben M'hidi, a key figure in Algeria's war against France, had been killed by French soldiers after his arrest in 1957.

But he has always stopped short of issuing any formal apology, a move that would cause uproar on the right as well as the far-right, many of whose supporters are from families of the so-called "pieds noirs" French who settled in Algeria but returned to France after independence.

Stora warned that the issue had become deeply political, with hardline Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau taking aim at Algeria in his successful bid for the leadership of his right-wing party.

He did not rule out it could become an issue in 2027 presidential elections where the far-right is due to launch a major challenge.

The memory of colonization and the Algerian War is "a bit like the ghost in the cupboard", said Stora.

"We feel like we've locked everything away, but it still slips out and the memory comes back."