In a move escalating diplomatic tensions with Paris, Algeria’s parliament unanimously passed a law on Wednesday declaring France’s 132-year colonial occupation a crime and formally demanding an apology and reparations.
During a symbolic session where lawmakers wore scarves in the national colors and chanted “long live Algeria,” they approved the legislation which holds France legally responsible for the “tragedies it caused” from 1830 to 1962.
The law details a list of colonial-era crimes, including mass killings, torture, nuclear tests, and the plundering of resources, and asserts that “full and fair compensation” is an “inalienable right of the Algerian state and people”.
It also criminalizes the glorification of colonialism, with potential prison sentences for offender.
The vote comes at a low point in Franco-Algerian relations, which have been strained by issues such as France’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a territory where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.
While analysts note the law is not legally binding for France, its political and symbolic significance is considerable.
Parliament Speaker Brahim Boughali called it “a clear message… that Algeria’s national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable.
France’s foreign ministry condemned the move as a “hostile initiative” that is counterproductive to dialogue.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously called colonialism a “crime against humanity” but has consistently stopped short of issuing a formal apology.
