Macron announces France-Algeria historians commission to study 'painful' colonial past
Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to open "a new page" in bilateral ties with Algeria, on the first day of his visit to the country which is designed to relaunch relations following longstanding tensions with France's former colony.
"We have a common past, it is complex, painful and it has sometimes prevented us from looking at the future," Macron said, calling for "great humility" in looking ahead.
The French president announced the creation of a "joint commission of historians, opening our archives and allowing us to look at the whole of this historical period, which is decisive for us, from the beginning of colonisation to the war of liberation".
This must be done "without taboos, with a willingness to work freely, historically, with full access to our archives", he stressed.
Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune welcomed "encouraging results" from discussions which allow "promising prospects to be drawn up in the special partnership which binds us".
The visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of the end of the eight-year Algerian War and the proclamation of Algeria's independence in 1962.
On the delicate issue of visas granted by France to Algerians, the French president said the two countries were working together "to deal with the most sensitive security issues". Emmanuel Macron decided in 2021 to divide their number by two in the face of Algiers' reluctance to take back its nationals refused residency in France.
But he said, the discussions would not "prevent the deployment of a chosen mobility for our artists, our sportsmen, our entrepreneurs, our academics, our scientists, our associations, our political leaders, allowing us to build more common projects".
Russia's war in Ukraine was also raised, with Macron
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