US EditionAlgeria's Parliament Approves Law Declaring France's Colonisation a Crime
The law demands formal apologies and reparations for colonial-era abuses including nuclear tests and torture, marking a significant symbolic break in Algeria-France relations.
- On December 24, 2025, Algeria's lower house unanimously approved a law declaring France's colonisation a crime and demanding apology and reparations.
- Amid a broader diplomatic crisis between Algeria and France, tensions intensified after President Emmanuel Macron's July 2024 recognition of Moroccan control over Western Sahara soured relations last year.
- The bill lists specific alleged crimes, including nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, physical and psychological torture, and systematic plundering, while assigning France legal responsibility, demanding `full and fair` compensation, and criminalising glorification of colonialism.
- France has so far declined to comment, with Pascal Confavreux saying last week he will not engage in `political debates taking place in foreign countries`; President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's green light signals growing hostility and political significance.
- Algeria's wider reparations push includes hosting an African states conference last month and demanding return of Baba Merzoug, while experts warn the law lacks binding international effect but could strain Algeria–France migration and bilateral ties.
83 Articles
83 Articles
Algeria passes law branding French colonisation a crime as it demands reparations and apology
Algeria's parliament on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation branding France's colonial rule a "state crime," while calling for both an official apology and financial reparations from Paris
The Algerian parliament has unanimously passed a law declaring France's former colonial rule in Algeria between 1830 and 1962 a state crime. They are demanding an official apology and compensation from Paris.
The Algerian parliament today unanimously passed a law declaring the French colonization of the North African country a crime and demanding an apology and reparations from Paris.
A law, adopted unanimously by the Algerian Parliament, criminalises French colonization and calls for official apologies and compensation.
A symbolic text ? The Algerian Parliament unanimously adopted on Wednesday 24 December a proposal for a law criminalizing French colonization. The text, consisting of five chapters and 27 articles, is considered to be "a clearly hostile initiative, both to the desire to resume the Franco-Algerian dialogue, and to a serene work on memorial issues", reacted in the evening the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Parisian gave an update on its c…
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