French-Algerian relations are facing their most severe crisis since Algeria gained independence in 1962, according to Benjamin Stora, a leading historian and author of a seminal report on France’s colonial legacy in Algeria.
Stora told AFP that restoring trust between the two countries will require meticulous and sustained effort, particularly in addressing historical grievances that have long haunted the relationship. The wounds inflicted during the Algerian war of independence (1954-1962) continue to strain ties decades later.
Tensions escalated sharply after French President Emmanuel Macron’s July 2024 endorsement of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, a territory where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front. Relations further deteriorated when Algeria arrested and imprisoned French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal on national security charges in November.
Diplomatic friction has deepened with reciprocal expulsions of officials and arrests of Algerian influencers in France on terror propaganda allegations.
“The bilateral relationship is enduring its most significant crisis since Algeria’s independence in 1962,” Stora said. He warned the crisis could be prolonged, noting both countries have actors with vested interests in maintaining a hostile stance.
Stora stressed that while confronting the colonial past is essential, it alone will not resolve the unprecedented impasse. The historical shadow reaches back beyond the war to brutal massacres during early French colonisation from 1830 to 1880, events little acknowledged in France. “It goes back very far. We are talking about six generations,” he said.
Regarding Macron’s handling of Western Sahara, Stora lamented the lack of prior consultation, which contributed to the current impasse. “We must be patient and proceed step by step with political will,” he added.
In 2021, Stora presented a report advocating a joint French-Algerian commission on memory and truth to foster reconciliation by gathering testimonies from all perspectives. Macron has made significant symbolic gestures, including recognizing the killing of Algerian resistance leader Larbi Ben M’hidi by French forces in 1957, though he has stopped short of issuing a formal apology—a politically sensitive move in France.
The issue has become heavily politicised, with far-right figures in France, including Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, adopting hardline positions on Algeria. Stora predicts the colonial legacy could play a role in the 2027 French presidential elections, with the far-right expected to mount a major challenge.
He described the memory of colonisation and the Algerian War as “a ghost in the cupboard” — something repressed but never fully gone. “We feel like we’ve locked everything away, but it still slips out and the memory comes back.”
