France determined to settle its colonial past in Algeria

Macron's visit to Algeria has already brought with it the first political consequences at a time when Europe is going through a major energy crisis which, in the words of French President Emmanuel Macron, has led us to "the end of abundance".

The first day of his visit to Algeria also coincided with the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence, something that was not insignificant since, as the first joint political measure, both Macron and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmajid Tebboune, announced the creation of a commission on the colonisation and war of independence of Algeria.

With the creation of this commission, the two countries seek to "build a new bilateral cooperation" and face "regional and global challenges" with a common vision. Aware of France's colonialist past in the country, Macron regretted sharing "a painful history with Algeria (...) what matters to us is to build the common future of our two countries".

According to Macron's statements, "we are living a unique moment that allows us to look back. We discussed it and agreed to set up a commission that will work without taboos, with access to our archives to carry out this work of recognition".

For Algeria, the declassification of documents that prove how France conducted nuclear tests in Algeria, before and after Algeria's independence, are part of the historical claims that Algerians have been making for years. In this context, the first official nuclear test that France allegedly carried out in Algeria dates back to the 1960s in the Algerian municipality of Reggane. According to various documents, this test would have led to the contamination of the Saharan desert with plutonium and the exposure of the local Tuareg population, as well as French army soldiers, to radioactive material. 

The statements of rapprochement and redemption are a departure from those issued by the French president last year, accusing Algeria of making "a rentier use of memory", which provoked a diplomatic crisis with the withdrawal of the Algerian ambassador to France. A year later, France, also aware of its progressive loss of influence on the continent with the withdrawal of its troops after the end of Operation Barkhane, has opted for a new partnership with Algeria in which they have agreed to create "a new horizon". 

In addition, the Algerian president said that several diplomatic visits would be made to try to find solutions to "issues of common interest" related to regional instability in countries such as Libya, Mali, the Sahel region and Western Sahara.

Tebboune also welcomed what he said were "encouraging results" leading to "promising prospects for the special partnership that unites the two countries".

Another of the issues that led the French president to travel to Algeria was securing Algeria's gas supplies on the eve of the autumn. Unlike Spain, which is currently going through a major diplomatic crisis with Algiers - with repercussions for gas supplies - Paris is strengthening its ties with the aim of ensuring that this "end of abundance" has as little impact as possible.

From Spain, and in an attempt to seek alternatives to Russian gas, the construction of the MidCat gas pipeline project continues to be completely paralysed. This pipeline, which could connect Spain with the rest of the European Union via France, has been continuously rejected by France. This fact has pushed Madrid to look for other partners for future construction, such as Italy, although nothing has yet been secured.