Benjamin Stora Reveals Secrets of the Memory File With Macron

French historian of Algerian origin, Benjamin Stora, revealed some of the secrets he shared with French President Emmanuel Macron over the course of nearly ten years.

These exchanges, during which the resident of the Élysée Palace formulated his project on the Algerian-French memory file, were discussed. He also spoke, for the first time, about his grandfather’s interests being targeted by figures from the Algerian Revolution.

The French president began approaching the historian, who had worked on the Algerian-French memory issue for five decades, according to Stora, in a podcast in which the rector of the Paris Mosque, Chems Eddine Hafiz, played the role of the interviewer, as reported by the mosque on its X account.

Stora said that the French president approached him in 2016 for consultations as an expert to search for ways to deal with the Algerian-French memory issue, which is considered one of the most sensitive, along with other issues.

At the time, the French president was merely a potential candidate for the French presidential elections. He visited Algeria in February 2017 after submitting his candidacy. During that visit, he made an unprecedented statement about the French colonisation of Algeria, confirming that “it is a crime against humanity”. However, he retracted these statements immediately upon his return to France, under pressure from the far right and those dreaming of a “French Algeria.”

The historian, who is highly respected by the Algerian authorities and was previously received by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, explained that he told Macron, who became French president in 2017, “Since the story is very long, we must be patient.” He added that he also advised him to choose symbolic acts and proceed step by step.

Stora’s goal behind this “step-by-step” policy was to expose the reality of the war and the colonial system to French society and younger generations. Algerians strongly criticised this policy, considering it a “policy of distillation,” at a time when Algerians were demanding recognition and even an apology for French crimes over 132 years, a demand Paris continues to reject to this day.

According to Benjamin Stora’s testimony, the French president accepted the advice he offered, which led to his subsequent assignment to prepare the report on the memory of French colonialism in Algeria in January 2021.

Benjamin Stora attempted to maintain an equitable distance between the Algerian and French sides, and he was criticised by both sides. The French side, the far right, considered him to have followed the ideas of the National Liberation Front, while the Algerians criticised him for not calling on Paris to apologise for its crimes during 132 years of destructive settlers’ colonialism.

However, Stora, speaking to the rector of the Paris Mosque, emphasised that his consultation was behind some of the French president’s subsequent steps regarding memory. He noted that he suggested to Emmanuel Macron that the French state acknowledge its responsibility for the extrajudicial killing of many of the revolution’s leaders and some of its French supporters.

A reference here is to the forgiveness Macron offered, on behalf of the French state, to the family of mathematics professor and activist for the Algerian cause, Maurice Audin, lawyer and activist Ali Boumendjel, and martyred hero Larbi Ben M’hidi, all of whom were brutally liquidated by French occupation army paratroopers. This followed decades of denial and fabrication, with claims of suicide, as in the case of martyr Ben M’hidi. He also proposed that France honour Mouloud Feraoun’s memory by placing a wreath on his grave.

Among his unanswered proposals, Benjamin Stora regretted his failure in the case of revolutionary lawyer Gisèle Halimi, attributing the reason to the mobilisation of Harkis’ sons and their signing of a petition against her admission to the Panthéon. He also revealed that President Tebboune was the one who suggested the establishment of a commission of historians from both sides. This commission made significant progress but was halted immediately after the French president’s “unfriendly” stance, siding with the Moroccan regime in the summer of 2024 regarding the Western Sahara issue.

Stora expressed his hope that the Algerian-French Joint Commission would be able to resume its work, which could contribute to restoring the currently stalled relations.

In testimony disclosed for the first time, Benjamin Stora revealed that he met with former minister and leader of the historic second wilaya, Abderrezak Bouhara, in 2002. The latter joked with him, saying, “I have a debt to you that I must repay. I burned your grandfather’s truck in Khenchela in 1956.” Benjamin Stora’s grandfather was the mayor of Khenchela (eastern Algeria) during the liberation revolution.