New sign of rapprochement between Algiers and Paris. Algerian Head of State Abdelmadjid Tebboune received a phone call on Thursday July 9 from Emmanuel Macron, the Algerian presidency announced, at a time when a thaw in relations between Algeria and France is taking shape. colonial power. The interview - the third in less than six weeks - focused on the memory issue as well as the situation in Libya and the Sahel, according to a press release from the presidency. 

It occurs a few days after the handover by France of the remains of 24 Algerian combatants killed at the start of French colonization in the 19th century.

"The interview (...) enabled the two presidents to review a certain number of questions (...), notably those related to memory and at the center of which was that of restitution, on 3 Last July, the remains of twenty-four Algerian resistance fighters as well as those who still remain to be repatriated and the need to work to reconcile the memories of the peoples of the two countries, "said the Algerian presidency.

Apologies awaited by Algeria

The restitution of bones - skulls - by France is a strong sign of rapprochement between Algiers and Paris, marked since independence in 1962 by controversies and tensions. In an interview with France 24 on Saturday, Abdelmadjid Tebboune said he expected France to apologize for the colonization of Algeria in order to "calm the climate and make it more serene".

>> To review our exclusive interview: Algerian President Tebboune believes in a "calming" of the situation with France

The Algerian president had also praised his French counterpart, "someone very honest" likely to contribute to this climate of appeasement.

In December 2017 in Algiers, the French Head of State undertook to restore the skulls of Algerians stored since the 19th century in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. The same year, but before his election, he also described the colonization of Algeria in the Algerian capital as a "crime against humanity", drawing criticism from French right-wing officials.

Algerian political leaders also criticized Marine Le Pen on Thursday, without naming her, and the "colonialist lobby", after the leader of the National Rally rejected Algiers' requests for an apology for the colonial past. 

A worrying situation in the Sahel

The question of memory remains at the heart of the conflictual relations between France and Algeria, where the perception is that Paris is not doing enough to repent of its colonial past.

In their telephone interview, the two presidents also exchanged "on the situation prevailing in the region, especially in Libya and the Sahel," the statement added.

They "agreed to maintain coordination and concertation between the two countries (...) and to launch a number of initiatives aimed at promoting political solutions to the crises that prevail there".

With AFP

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app

google-play-badge_FR