Algeria’s parliament has opened debate on a draft law that would formally criminalize more than 130 years of French colonial rule, a move that reflects enduring historical grievances and threatens to further strain already fragile relations with Paris. Framed by Algerian officials as a long-overdue act of historical justice, the proposed legislation seeks not only to condemn colonial-era abuses but also to assert state authority over national memory in the face of what Algiers views as persistent denial and minimization by France.

The bill was introduced during a plenary session of the People’s National Assembly on December 21 by its speaker, Ibrahim Boughali. Lawmakers discussed the structure and intent of the draft ahead of a vote expected on December 24. Boughali described the proposal as far more than a technical legal measure, calling the criminalization of colonialism “a cause for the entire nation” and a “defining milestone in modern Algeria.” His remarks underscored how deeply the colonial past remains intertwined with Algeria’s political identity and its post-independence legitimacy.

For Algeria, French colonialism is not a distant historical episode but a lived trauma whose consequences continue to shape society, politics, and relations with the outside world. France invaded Algeria in 1830 and went on to impose a settler-colonial system that lasted until independence in 1962. Unlike many other colonies, Algeria was treated as an integral part of France, divided into departments and settled by hundreds of thousands of Europeans. This arrangement entrenched a rigid racial hierarchy, dispossessed indigenous populations of land, and denied most Algerians meaningful political........

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