The French Ambassador’s “Misstep” Regarding Algerian Memory of Colonialism

The French Embassy in Algeria has regained its vitality after a few years of unusual situation, during which it lost public relations with some political and media elites, after this sovereign piece of French territory was transformed into a suspicion that could lead to a difficult reckoning for those who visit it.
This inspection was also stopped by the French ambassador to Algeria, Stephane Romatti, during his speech on the occasion of the celebration of the French National Day, which falls on the fourteenth of July every year, at his residence in the upper part of the capital in the district of El Biar. He delivered a short speech in which he reviewed the state of bilateral relations. Algeria and France need each other to face internal, regional and international challenges.
Ambassador Romatti was surprised by what he described as the large and unprecedented presence of guests who responded to the Embassy’s invitation to attend the celebration of the French National Day, which comes at a time when bilateral relations are in a state of cautious stability, as evidenced by the presence of both the Minister of Justice, Abderachid Tabi, and the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Kamel Badari, who represented the Algerian state at this official celebration.
The French ambassador seemed pleased by the large number of participants representing many of the sensitivities of Algerian society, including official and unofficial politicians, media professionals, businessmen, figures from the world of art and culture, and representatives of the diplomatic corps present in Algeria, as well as many Algerians with dual nationality. Perhaps this happiness is what made him… He made some remarks that did not go unnoticed by some of those present, in which he returned to the historical relations between the two countries.
In his speech, Mr. Stephane Romatti spoke of the human ties inherited from the past, which, according to him, are a factor that helps to give permanence to bilateral relations and make them stable to serve the interests of both countries. However, in the midst of this intense emotion, he expressed the extent to which the two countries need each other, each according to its own characteristics. He fell into a trap that would lead to different interpretations, especially for those who consider that the French colonization of Algeria took it back centuries and that independence was a decisive moment of salvation from an oppressive, exploitative and criminal colonial regime.
The ambassador, while recalling the components and obligations of the rapprochement between the two countries, said: “History has separated us, torn us apart and harmed us, and sometimes, in our memories, this history still haunts us”. On this point, Algerians do not agree with him, because the two peoples have never been one people. Rather, the stronger party was able to impose this with iron and fire, and even this “one” was not one in the strict sense of the word, but rather they were two peoples, an unjust occupying party that came and monopolized everything, power, influence and all the elements of wealth from land and money… and deprived another people, the real owner of the land, of everything. Of everything, even the most basic elements of life, freedom and identity.
Despite all that has happened in terms of the liberation of the Algerian people from the brutal colonial regime, with all the blood and tears that accompanied it, the French diplomat still hopes for the rapprochement that, from his point of view, is based on the factors of geography, the future, and human and family ties, which would make “the destiny of our two countries closely linked by our intertwined family ties”.
Such an analytical approach in reading the words of the French ambassador may be considered by some, especially the French side and those who yearn for a “French Algeria”, including those from the southern shore of the Mediterranean, as a dependence on the colonial past and turning the issue of memory into a “commercial record”, as the president once said. The Frenchman, Emmanuel Macron, but as long as Paris continues the policy of escaping forward, refusing to bear the responsibilities of the French state, the past will remain the problem through which the positions of the Algerian state crystallize.