PARIS -

Friday (March 18) marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Evian Accords, which paved the way for Algeria's independence in 1962, and ended a French colonial era that lasted 132 years.

These agreements came as a result of long and complex negotiations that culminated in the signing of them between Algeria and France on March 18, 1962, in the French city of Evian.

The ratification of these agreements is a great victory for the struggles of the Algerian revolutionaries against the French colonialists, who suffered heavy losses, and the culmination of the liberation revolution that erupted in November 1954.

A previous Algerian campaign entitled "I am Mansic" to talk about the crimes of France during the colonial era (social networking sites)

A wound that does not heal

Despite the passage of 60 years since the agreements that ended the war, the repercussions of the colonial era are still great, and time has not been able to erase its psychological, social and political effects on both sides.

Therefore, the relationship between Algeria and France remained volatile;

Between caution, sensitivity, ambiguity, détente and tension, the memory wound remained open to the unknown, especially with the presence of several files that were not closed by agreements between the two countries.

Issa Kadri, professor of sociology, former director of the Maghreb European Institute in Paris, attributes this complex relationship to several reasons.

Among them is that Algeria remained for more than a century a French province, and more than a million French lived there, and when this community returned to its country after independence, it brought with it a difficult memory of the war between Algeria and France.

Qadri adds to Al Jazeera Net, "We also do not forget this great solidarity and cooperation between the Algerian and French peoples during independence, in many areas such as energy, education and culture. However, this relationship witnessed fluctuations from the mid-seventies to the eighties, especially with France closing its borders in the face of Algerian immigration."

In conclusion, Qadri says, "International relations in general are up and down and fluctuate, let alone such a colonial relationship... It is a relationship based on contradictions and fluctuations."


memory war

With the advent of Emmanuel Macron to power, as the first French president born after the Algerian war, a transformation began in French-Algerian relations.

In February 2017, while he was a candidate in the presidential elections, his statement from Algeria, in which he said that "colonialism is a crime against humanity", caused a huge uproar.

After his election, Macron took a series of steps to purify memory and seek reconciliation between the two countries.

But he did not go so far as to offer an apology for colonialism, a very sensitive topic in France, where ultra-nationalist rhetoric finds more and more ears.

Hosni Obeidi, a political analyst and director of the Center for Studies and Research on the Arab World in Geneva, believes that the Evian agreements are the only ones in the 20th century between colonizer and colonizer that have survived until today.

Obeidi said that "60 years is a short and short period in the life and history of nations, especially when we know that French colonialism lasted 132 years, and differed from British colonialism, for example, in that it directly hits the roots of identity and culture and seeks to rob it and plant a new identity of its own."

The issue of identity, according to Abidi, is the mirror of people's memory.

"The Algerian memory is a war memory, wounded and violent, which created a troubled identity for many Algerians."

Away from the wounds of memory and the spotlight, the cooperation between the two countries continues in secret on several issues, which is what made the writer Nawfal Ibrahimi Al-Mili, saying in his book "France and Algeria... 50 Years of Secret Stories", that French-Algerian relations are good when they are secret and become confrontational. In public.

President Emmanuel Macron at the first festival after announcing his candidacy and is expected to address the memory of the Evian Accords in his upcoming election speeches (Reuters)

Conventions and elections

The memory of the "Evian" agreements comes this time at a delicate and sensitive time, and two weeks before the start of the first round of the French presidential elections, which gives it a special impetus.

In his speech on March 19, marking the 60th anniversary of the Evian Accords, President Macron is expected to announce important measures to reconcile the memory between the French and the Algerians.

Analyst Abidi points out that despite the symbolism of this day, the electoral circumstance will make President Macron in the depth of the electoral campaign, and any initiative will be calculated and have direct results on his electoral campaign, especially with the forces of the far-right waiting for any step that would make concessions to Algeria by the French state.

The book "60 Years After the Evian Agreements.. Crossing Looks at a Collective Memory", a recent publication by Hosni Abedi (Al Jazeera)

Old and new approaches

The Evian agreements carry in their heart symbolic lessons and lessons that many writers and historians have tried to write down.

In this regard, the book “The Evian Agreements” mentions the end of the war of liberation in Algeria, by its author, Ben Youssef Ibn Khadda;

One of those who drafted these agreements, and the first head of the provisional government of the Algerian Republic during independence.

In this same context, a joint book by the writer Hosni Obeidi was recently published that delves into these agreements, entitled "60 Years after the Evian Agreements: Crossing Looks at a Collective Memory".

Abedi says he has tried to take a new approach to the Evian agreements and explain their added value through this book.

He also tried to go beyond the historical aspect and merely celebrate the anniversary, and dig deep into these agreements as an important political station in the history of Algeria and France trying to perpetuate peace and dialogue after the war and military confrontations.

This conviction, based on the culture of political dialogue and negotiations, imposed itself on the French and Algerian sides, says Abidi.