The French Senate blames Algeria for not abiding by the Evian agreements

A French Senate report accused Algeria of allegedly not respecting its commitments contained in the Evian agreements, under which it undertakes to compensate the so-called “Blackeet” or “Pieds Noirs” for forsaken property they left behind when leaving Algeria at the onset of the country’s hard-won independence.

Indeed, the report stated that not less than one and a half million Frenchmen and Frenchwomen left Algeria hastily leaving behind their belongings in addition to many fleeing “harkis” who were later betrayed and abandoned by them.

According to the report, only 58% of returnees from Algeria were compensated and others are still waiting to follow suit.

Additionally, the same report noted that nearly 2,000 Europeans disappeared in Algeria, especially in 1962, stressing that their families still hope to find out their traces, especially as there are over 600 Christian cemeteries with over 400 000 graves scattered across the national territory.

“France garners the positive spin-offs of President Hollande’s visit to Algeria in 2012.”

On the economic side however, the French Senate report said that France now reaps the benefits of the rewarding outcome of the official visit paid by President Francois Hollande to Algeria in December 2012, noting that the visit cleared the way for the smooth establishment in Algeria of manifold leading French companies operating in several fields of endeavour notably in the profit-yielding sectors of car-manufacturing and industry.