Paris Considers Participation In Commemorating A Massacre A Step On The Path

In her response to a parliamentary question regarding what the French call the “Oran events” in the early days of independence, the French Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans avoided being drawn into the agenda of the far-right member of the National Rally party, Cyril Triboulet, who dreams of “French Algeria” delusions.

However, she attempted to draw attention to the fact that France has provided initiatives regarding the memory issue and that it is waiting for what she described as “gestures” from the other side.

She linked these “gestures” to her recent visit to Algeria and her travel to the city of Setif accompanied by the French Ambassador, Stéphane Romatet, who returned to his post after more than a year of absence, to participate in the commemoration of May 8, 1945, which claimed the lives of 45,000 Algerian martyrs at the hands of the French occupation army and settler groups.

It became clear through the written answer that the French authorities consider this visit a French step regarding the memory file.

Consequently, she hinted that French authorities are waiting for another step from their Algerian counterparts, or as stated in the text of the answer published in the Official Journal of the French National Assembly (the lower house of parliament) on July 7, 2025: “..Continuing the approach of dialogue, no matter how difficult it may sometimes be, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs visited the city of Setif on May 8.

The continuation of these symbolic gestures, which must be reciprocated to launch a movement of true reconciliation, is one of the keys to moving beyond ‘contemplating the past’ and ‘moving away from a memory that has become a prison in a past where past conflicts are constantly repeated’.”

It is also understood from the content of the answer that France, represented by its President Emmanuel Macron, who expressed his “determination to embark on a process of reviving the memory file, searching for the truth, and reconciliation with Algeria,” has undertaken initiatives such as commissioning the French historian Benjamin Stora to prepare a report in 2021 on the French colonization of Algeria, and his participation in launching a joint commission of Algerian and French historians in 2022 to discuss historical memory issues. However, these initiatives did not create a breakthrough in the wall of this sensitive file.

In fact, the French side sought through some decisions to dilute the handling of the memory file by fragmenting the recognition of certain French crimes, such as recognizing the French state crime in the assassination of the hero martyr Larbi Ben M’hidi, as well as the martyr Ali Boumendjel and the French activist for the Algerian cause, Maurice Audin. These steps were met with coolness by the Algerian side, which views the issue of French colonization as a comprehensive and indivisible matter extending from 1830 to 1962.

This was emphasized by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune when he agreed with his French counterpart to establish the joint commission to discuss the memory file during Macron’s visit to Algeria in August 2022.

Thus, atrocities and issues that Algeria considers crucial for an honorable settlement of the memory file for both parties were ignored. French decisions did not include atrocities committed since the early beginnings of the occupation, such as the El Ouffia massacre and the Dahra massacres, the systematic dispossession of Algerians’ lands in the first fifty years of the occupation, as well as the extermination of entire tribes during popular revolutions, and the deportation to New Caledonia and Cayenne.

These are horrendous crimes that are not subject to a statute of limitations, besides being crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity, in addition to the continued refusal to return the looted archives, the lack of cooperation in cleaning up areas affected by nuclear explosions, the failure to hand over maps of chemical and nuclear waste burial sites, and the failure to compensate their victims.

Commenting on the words of the French Minister of the Armed Forces, historian and researcher in colonial history, Mohsen Kaitouni, emphasizes that merely criticizing colonialism is not considered a step or an initiative that can be built upon, because colonialism is condemned even in United Nations resolutions, as he stated in communication with “Echorouk”.

Mr. Kaitouni explained, commenting: “Some French people consider the critique of colonialism an initiative. This is primarily a Franco-French problem, because many French people today are descendants of former French colonies.

Therefore, the French resort to criticizing colonialism with the aim of reconciling with a segment of the French people who were and still are victims of this phenomenon. Politicians with leftist ideological backgrounds can be noted here.”

The analyst added:”The French often accuse Algeria of using memory in the political conflict with France, but they are champions in employing memory through enacting relevant laws, as well as codifying material and moral privileges directed at those who were part of making that memory”, noting that Algerians “do not need a stance from the French regarding colonialism, because Algeria carried out a revolution witnessed by the world, and it succeeded in expelling the colonizer, and this is a source of honor for Algerians.”