Restitution of Algeria’s Property Revives Debate About the “Positive Role of Colonialism”

Some French parties rejecting the memory reconciliation moved to pressure their country’s authorities to prevent them from responding to the requests submitted by the Algerian-French mixed commission concerning the restitution of some “symbolic” property that France had looted from Algeria during the occupation period.

Algeria submitted an open list of its property with “symbolic significance” preserved in various French institutions, and proposed for restitution and delivery as a “symbolic act to Algeria.”

The Algerian-French commission said in its last fifth meeting held in Algeria between May 20 and 24, that it “hopes that concrete measures will be achieved to reflect the true will to address all dimensions of the colonial phase to look forward to the future.”

Targeting the memory reconciliation project between Algeria and France began to expand and spread from the political to the media dimension, in what appeared to be a systematic and deliberate plan to put a stick in the wheel of the Mixed Commission, which both President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, are betting on in achieving the set goal, which is reducing memory wars, which have often poisoned bilateral relations over decades.

The French opponents to the memory reconciliation between Algeria and France began their work publicly last weekend, when the leader of the right-wing “Les Republicains” party, Eric Ciotti, posted a provocative statement on the “X” network through its party’s official account, that attacked Algeria, saying: “A message of service to Algeria. We must restitute everything, the good and the bad: criminals, delinquents, illegal immigrants, OQTF (Algerian nationals who have been ordered to leave the French territory).”

After the political opponent, it was the turn of the media represented by the magazine specializing in history and art, “La Tribune de l’Art,” which published a tweet on “X”, rejecting Algeria’s demands to restitute its property that was stolen and displayed in French museums since the occupation period. What is notable about this tweet is that it is very similar in structure to the one issued by the head of the Republican Party, even if it differs in meaning.

“We “restitute” to Algeria? Alright. So we must recover all the works that were acquired thanks to France during colonization, particularly the Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers collections. We can’t have butter and butter’s money”, the magazine said in its X post.

La Tribune de l’Art is a French magazine specializing in art history and Western heritage from the Middle Ages until 1930. It was founded by the French art historian and journalist Didier Rykner, whose goal is to defend, protect and restore heritage. It also publishes some scientific articles as well.

What is interesting about the matter is the direction taken by the media debate in France on the issue of restituting Algerian property, which has turned upside down, so that it is moving in the opposite direction, meaning that France is the one that must restore its heritage present in Algeria, in an effort that contributes to the thesis of the “positive practices of colonialism”, which was stipulated in the law of February 23, 2005, and resulted in a massive uprising in the former French colonies.

An article on the “Boulevard Voltaire” website stated that “it was France that supplied its former colony with works of art to a large extent, including through purchase, to supply Algerian museums with French works but also… Algerian!”, it goes so far as to say that “Algiers Museum of Fine Arts, which was opened in 1930 includes about 8000 works, is one of the largest museums in Africa”.

However, this platform unknowingly acknowledged the existence of the act of looting the Algerian heritage before independence saying; “In April 1962”, that is, three months before independence, “there was a transfer (theft) of 300 works of art from the Museum of Fine Arts in Algeria to the Louvre Museum in Paris”, then talked about restituting them in 1969.