A historic moment on December 24, 2025, when the Algerian parliament unanimously voted to pass a law that declares France's 132-year colonisation of the country a crime against humanity. Photo: AP.
The legislation affirms that Algeria and its people are entitled to compensation for the material and moral damage inflicted during French colonial rule
Algeria’s parliament unanimously passed legislation on 24 December declaring France’s colonization of Algeria a crime, stating that “full and fair compensation for all material and moral damages” is an inalienable right of the Algerian state and people.
The law was adopted by Algeria’s lower house in Algiers, with lawmakers voting in favor of a bill explicitly assigning France “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused.”
The vote took place on Wednesday inside the Algerian parliament, with MPs marking the moment by standing in the chamber wearing national colors, chanting “long live Algeria,” and singing the national anthem before and after the vote.
This comes amid a prolonged diplomatic crisis between Algiers and Paris, which analysts describe as legally symbolic but politically significant as bilateral relations continue to deteriorate.
In the legislation, a range of acts defined as “crimes of French colonisation” were listed, including nuclear testing, extrajudicial killings, “physical and psychological torture,” systematic land seizure, and the plundering of resources, while rejecting claims that Algeria lacked political existence before 1830.
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The law recalls the period of French rule between 1830 and 1962 and cites Algerian reports of 1.5 million deaths during the independence struggle, a figure rejected by French historians who estimate about 500,000 total deaths.
It also dictates that “full and fair compensation for all material and moral damages caused by French colonisation is an inalienable right of the Algerian state and people,” including restitution of archives, cultural property, human remains, and environmental remediation of nuclear test sites.
The legislation criminalizes the “glorification,” “justification,” or “apology for colonialism,” imposing prison sentences of five to 10 years and fines while extending responsibility to the media and digital platforms.
While Emmanuel Macron has previously described colonization as a “crime against humanity,” France declined to comment on what its Foreign Ministry described as “political debates taking place in foreign countries.”
The legislation marks a shift from earlier Algerian positions emphasizing historical “recognition” rather than formal demands for apologies and reparations.
