A list of symbolic Algerian properties on Macron’s table for retrieval

The Algerian-French Committee for History and Memory, which recently held its fifth meeting in Algiers, expressed its hope that the truth of the Algiers Declaration in August 2022 would be translated into embodying the tasks of the committee and achieving concrete measures that reflect the true will to address all dimensions of the colonial phase in order to look to the future.
According to a statement issued by the committee on Monday, “the fifth meeting of the Algerian-French Joint Committee for History and Memory was held at the headquarters of the National Archives Center in Birkhadem district in upper Algiers on May 22 and 23, 2024, in a context that coincides with the celebration of the National Memory Month.”
In this context, the French Committee extended its “sincere thanks to its Algerian counterpart and to all institutions for the warm reception and access to their rich assets during the visit that extended from May 20 to 24.”
The Algerian-French Joint Committee for History and Memory hopes that “the treatment of the memory file will live up to what the Algerian and French people aspire to.”
The statement added that the joint committee stressed in this regard “the necessity of continuing negotiations within the framework of the Algerian-French joint working group on the issue of archives.”
Regarding historical Algerian properties, during the meeting, the Algerian committee presented an open list of these properties “with symbolic connotations and preserved in various French institutions and proposed for retrieval and delivery in a symbolic capacity to Algeria,” calling on the French party to “raise its concerns about the retrieval of cultural, archival and other properties in the attached list to the French President Emmanuel Macron, which the French committee unanimously approved and committed to presenting to the French President in order for these properties to be returned to their country of origin as soon as possible”.
On the other hand, the joint committee agreed to “continue achieving chronology around the nineteenth century, which includes the military, political, economic, social, cultural and humanitarian fields,” valuing “scientific and technical cooperation in the fields of restoration, digitization, exchange of experiences, libraries, bibliography, scientific and cultural exchange, and the perpetuation of places of memory in Algeria and France.” Digitizing civil status records, French cemeteries in Algeria, and Algerian cemeteries during the nineteenth century in France, an electronic portal, and organizing joint scientific forums.”
It was noted, by the way, that the French Committee for History and Memory proposed in this field “a draft program for a scientific meeting on archives during 2024-2025, a cooperation that the two parties considered would be for the benefit of the youth of both countries.”
The Joint Committee also welcomed “the broad outlines of partnership prospects proposed by the officials of the French Archives and the French National Library during their visit to the institutions of the Algerian National Archives and the Algerian National Library, especially in the field of scientific, technical and professional exchange, training and digitization, and most importantly the exchange of knowledge (exhibitions, joint inventory).” “.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the committee, which agreed to hold its sixth meeting at the beginning of next July in France, expressed its hope that “the truth of the Algeria Declaration in August 2022 will be translated into embodying the tasks of the committee and achieving concrete measures that reflect the true will to address all dimensions of the colonial phase in order to look to the future.” “.
It is noteworthy that the committee coordinators are Mr. Mohamed Lahcen Zghidi on the Algerian side and Benjamin Storaon on the French side.