Algeria's parliament has unanimously passed a law declaring France's colonization of the North African state a crime, and demanding an apology and reparations. The law also criminalizes the glorification of colonialism, state-run TV reports.
The vote is the latest sign of increasingly strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, with some observers saying they are at their lowest since Algeria gained independence 63 years ago. France's colonization of Algeria between 1830 and 1962 was marked by mass killings, large-scale deportations and ended in a bloody war of independence. Algeria says the war killed 1.5 million people, while French historians put the death toll much lower.
France's President Emmanuel Macron has previously acknowledged the colonization of Algeria was a crime against humanity but has not offered an apology. Lawmakers wore scarves in the colours of the national flag and chanted long live Algeria as they applauded the bill's passage through parliament.
The legislation states that France has legal responsibility for the tragedies it caused, and full and fair compensation was an inalienable right of the Algerian state and people. France has not yet commented on the vote.
This comes at a time of growing pressure on Western powers to offer reparations for slavery and colonialism, and to return looted artefacts still kept in their museums. Algerian lawmakers have been demanding that France return a 16th Century bronze canon, regarded as the protector of Algiers, which was removed by French forces in 1830.
The tension has escalated further with events such as Macron's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara, in contradiction to Algeria's position as the main ally of the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Algeria's recent legislation reflects its determination in addressing historical injustices while seeking a new framework for reparations as it hosted a conference of African states focused on justice and restitution.
