French President Emmanuel Macron sent a message to his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, congratulating him on the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence from France, and this country is preparing to launch its celebrations with an unprecedented military parade commemorating the end of colonialism that lasted 132 years.
The French presidency said in a statement that a wreath will also be laid, today, Tuesday, in the name of Macron, at the "national memorial to the war of Algeria and the battles in Morocco and Tunisia" at the Quay of Branly in Paris in memory of the Europeans who were killed in Oran on the same day of independence on July 5, 1962 .
The Elysee added in its statement, "The 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence is an opportunity for the President of the Republic to send to President Tebboune a message expressing his wishes for the Algerian people and expressing his hope to continue strengthening the already strong relations between France and Algeria."
The statement quoted Macron, "reiterating his commitment to continue the process of recognition of truth and reconciliation for the memories of the Algerian and French peoples."
Macron expressed his hope to continue strengthening relations between France and Algeria (Reuters)
strained relationships
Six decades after the withdrawal of the French armies, relations between Paris and Algeria have not yet reached normal, despite Macron's efforts since his election to calm memory with a series of symbolic initiatives that did not amount to an "apology".
The fighting between the two parties stopped after an 8-year war between the Algerian revolutionaries and the French army, after the signing of the historic Evian Accords on March 18, 1962, which paved the way for the declaration of Algeria's independence on July 5 of the same year.
Hours before France officially recognized Algeria's independence, a massacre took place in Oran, in which "hundreds of Europeans, primarily French," were killed by French forces.
Algeria wrested independence after 7 and a half years of a bloody war that left hundreds of thousands dead, making it the only former French colony in Africa in the 1960s that was liberated by arms from Paris.
Celebrations and procedures
To mark the occasion, the authorities closed since Friday the main entrance to the east of the capital, along 16 kilometers to allow the army to conduct exercises for a major military parade, which will be the first in 33 years.
Traffic was diverted to other roads until Wednesday, according to the capital's state authorities.
These measures caused major traffic jams.
This review is taking place in the presence of heads and delegations of several countries, and it is related to the President of Tunisia, Kais Saied, and the President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, in addition to the President of Ethiopia, Sahli Work Zewde, the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, the President of the Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, and the Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Ibrahim Ghali.
Also among the attendees were a number of officials and ministers, including Italian Senate President Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Manqoush, and ministers from Qatar and the UAE, in addition to the Secretary-General of the Tunisian Labor Union Noureddine Taboubi.
Algeria Independence Day logo (networking sites)
In an indication of the importance of the occasion, a special logo was designed that has been appearing for weeks on all TV channels, and it is a circle decorated with 60 stars, and in the middle of it is the phrase "A glorious history and a new era".
On this occasion, President Tebboune and his Tunisian counterpart oversaw, yesterday, in the city of Sidi Fredj, west of the capital, the inauguration of the "Monument of Freedom" immortalized to raise the national flag in the sky of independent Algeria.