Emmanuel Macron and Abdelmadjid Tebboune had announced it last August: a mixed commission of historians called to work on French colonization and the war in Algeria was about to see the light of day. After months of discussions, it is now done. Five French historians have just been appointed to take part. They will have to work together with five Algerian historians, named them in November by Algiers.
It is Benjamin Stora who will co-chair this joint commission alongside Mohamed Lahcen Zeghidi, the former director of the National Mujahid Museum. Alongside Benjamin Stora, Tramor Quémeneur, a specialist in the Algerian war, will serve as secretary general. Also named: Jacques Frémeaux who worked on the French conquest of Algeria by France, Jean-Jacques Jordi who wrote about the Europeans of Algeria and Florence Hudowicz, chief curator of heritage and co-curator of the exhibition on theemir Abdelkader at the Mucem in Marseille in the spring of 2022.
All will be called upon to work together with the five Algerian historians appointed in November by Algiers: Mohamed El Korso, Idir Hachi, Abdelaziz Fillali, Mohamed Lahcen Zighidi and Djamel Yahiaoui. According to the declaration signed last August by Presidents Macron and Tebboune, the scientific work carried out by the commission will aim to address “ all questions including those concerning the opening and restitution of the archives, property and mortuary remains of Algerian resistance fighters, as well as those of nuclear tests and the missing, with respect for all memories “. The challenge seems immense as the subject is sensitive.
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The question is already whether the historians of the two countries will really manage to work together. From a logistical point of view, this is still the big blur. No timetable has been set. The commission’s operating budget has not been disclosed either. And to make matters worse, the context has become tense in recent weeks in Algeria. While the government is attacking the media and human rights defenders ever more harshly, Benjamin Stora, author of a report on colonization in Algeria and the war of independencewas the target last month of anti-Semitic attacks broadcast by a nationalist site…
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