By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Algeria’s Senate has urged that historic legislation declaring France’s 1830-1962 colonization a crime should be revisited, creating a legislative discord with the lower house that passed the bill in December, in which it also demanded an apology and reparations from Paris.
The December 24 legislation had secured the voting of the lower chamber, classifying the colonization as a crime with “legal responsibility”.
The Senate however objected to specific articles, particularly areas involving financial compensation.
“Algerian Senate Removes Reparations & Apology Clauses from Colonialism Criminalization Bill
“While reviewing the bill criminalizing French colonialism, the Senate adopted it but unanimously rejected 13 articles as incompatible with the president’s stance: recognition of colonial”, a social media post from an inside source says.
A joint committee of both chambers will sit to reconcile the text, as the Senate cannot reverse the law.
The disagreement spans from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s position that Algeria is “not tempted by money” but seeks formal recognition of crimes committed instead of financial restitution.
The bill has further escalated already strained diplomatic relations, sparked by France’s endorsement of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Paris condemned the legislation by the Algerian parliament, calling it “clearly hostile.”
The Algerian text enumerates colonial crimes including nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, torture, and systematic resource plundering, asserting that “full and fair compensation” remains an “inalienable right.”
The law invokes disputed historical tolls, which states that 1.5 million Algerians were killed during the era but French historians have disputed this figure, estimating 500,000 total deaths.
French President Emmanuel Macron had in the past admitted that colonization was a “crime against humanity,” but his country has not issued a formal apology to the perceived victims.
