They Built, The Algerians Did… And You Are Supporters Of “French Algeria”

The French Minister of Interior, Laurent Nuñez, by speaking about communication with his Algerian counterpart, Said Saayoud, caused a state of political uproar among the far-right, which manifested through the questioning by the leader of the “Reconquest” party, sinister Éric Zemmour, of Algeria’s independence, and the affront to the revolutionary figures who defeated the French occupation army.

Meanwhile, Dominique de Villepin and former French presidential candidate Ségolène Royal came to their defense, describing them as “supporters of French Algeria”.

Both Sarah Knafo, a European MP for the “Reconquest” party, and her party leader, the sinister Éric Zemmour, accused the French Minister of Interior, Laurent Nuñez, of submitting to Algeria, following his criticism of the way his predecessor at the Palais Beauvau, Bruno Retailleau, dealt with Algeria. The new Minister of Interior considered that “the policy of arm-twisting is not effective with Algeria”.

While the far-right and traditional right rejoiced at the passage of a resolution condemning the 1968 agreement with Algeria at the National Assembly (the lower house of parliament), which was preceded by a parliamentary report that set the political stage for it, Ségolène Royal, who competed with Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency in 2007, posted a tweet on her “X” platform account, attacking those who fuel the fire of bilateral relations.

Commenting on a fiery statement by a Socialist Party deputy attacking those calling for the cancellation of the 1968 agreement, she wrote: “Bravo. And what’s more is the accusation that the 2 billion euro cost burdens the French treasury because of that agreement,” emphasizing the role played by Algerians in promoting French companies, and added: “The silent MEDEF (French employers’ association) has an idea.”

Former French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, also weighed in, saying on a “BFM TV” program on Sunday: “The threads we hoped to pull after our ambassador’s presence during the commemoration of the 1961 demonstrations, and after the exchange of letters between Laurent Nuñez and his Algerian counterpart, the Minister of Interior, all of this has effectively broken due to this gesture (the French parliament’s resolution) which is incredibly brutal.”

He strongly criticized the state of bilateral relations: “We cannot deny the importance of the human relations between the two parties, and we must evaluate the legal situation we are living today as a result of all this: families who can no longer see each other, grandparents who can no longer see their grandchildren, and students who cannot return to their universities.”

This political debate was ignited by Sarah Knafo, a Frenchwoman of Moroccan origin, who claimed that France spends on Algerians, during a talk show last weekend on “BFM TV”, saying: “We separated from Algeria in 1962. But France got custody of the children… and is still paying child support,” referring here to Algerians living in France and contributing to its economy.

The extremist politician’s words received a strong response from an Algerian Imam in France, Ismail, who previously wrote on “Twitter”: “Your metaphor reflects a lot of your contempt, and very little of your culture.” He added: “Algeria did not separate from France, but liberated itself after 132 years of occupation, looting, and massacres,” referring to a “huge debt that France never paid.” He went on to say: “As for ‘child custody,’ these are French citizens, born here, living here, and contributing here.”

This strong response prompted the sinister Éric Zemmour to intervene with great impudence, when he said that “De Gaulle is the one who granted Algeria its independence, because he did not want his village to become Colombey-les-Deux-Mosquées,” referring to a phrase attributed to the General when describing the village of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises where he lived until his death, questioning the Algerian people’s struggle for their independence.

Imam Ismail responded to him by saying: “De Gaulle simply realized that he could no longer continue a war that was morally, politically, and militarily lost.” He accused colonial France of impoverishing and displacing Algerians, and the Imam added, addressing the sinister Zemmour: “You are fueling hatred because you cannot tolerate the idea of Arab names embodying republican France.”