Parliamentarians voted on Wednesday to adopt the legislation, which holds that France bears 'legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused.' Lawmakers wearing scarves in the national colours chanted 'Long live Algeria' as they applauded the passage of the bill.
The law sets out a detailed list of abuses committed during France's rule from 1830 to 1962, including nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, physical and psychological torture, and systematic plundering of resources. It also asserts that full and fair compensation for both material and moral harm suffered because of colonisation is an inalienable right of the Algerian people.
In addition to categorising colonisation as a crime, the legislation demands that Paris issue a formal apology and pay reparations for the harm inflicted over more than a century of colonial rule. While the law is symbolic and carries no binding international legal authority over France, Algerian officials say the move is politically significant and reflects a broader struggle over historical memory and accountability.
Parliament Speaker Brahim Boughali described the vote as sending 'a clear message, both internally and externally, that Algeria's national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable,' according to state news reports.
The passage of the law comes amid a deepening diplomatic crisis between Algiers and Paris. Tensions have mounted over recent years due to disputes on a range of issues, including France's foreign policy stances in North Africa and the handling of historical questions related to colonial abuses.
France's colonial rule of Algeria, which lasted nearly 132 years, was marked by widespread violence and repression, culminating in a brutal independence war from 1954 to 1962. Algeria estimates that up to 1.5 million Algerians died during that conflict, although historians differ on exact figures.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously acknowledged elements of France's colonial past as crimes against humanity but stopped short of issuing a formal national apology, a stance that has frustrated many in Algeria.
While the new Algerian law will not automatically compel France to act, analysts say its passage represents a symbolic rupture in bilateral relations and could shape future regional diplomacy and debates about colonial legacy and reparations.
Rania Umutoni
