A year and a half after submitting his report on the memory of colonization and the war in Algeria, the French historian Benjamin Stora was received by Abdelmadjid Tebboune, on the eve of the sixtieth anniversary of Algerian independence which took place on July 5, 1962. The Algerian president proposes a “ memory work “common between France and Algeria throughout the period of French colonization, Benjamin Stora told our colleagues at Agence France Presse.
” This is the first time that there was a discussion at the bottom », Algerian side, on these memorial questions, since the publication of the reportin January 2021, indicates Benjamin Stora, a few days after being received by Abdelmadjid Tebboune, for more than an hour.
According to the French historian, quoted by AFP, the Algerian president explained to him ” the major importance of a work of memory over the entire period of colonization », an opinion that affirms to share Benjamin Stora for whom « we cannot remain prisoner of a single date, 1962. We must broaden the field of reflection. »
He recalls that the war of conquest which lasted nearly half a century, between 1830 and 1871, was very deadly and marked by the establishment of a settlement.
The French historian notes a ” change of tone » between Paris and Algiers and note « a desire to pursue a dialogue. »
If the two countries went through a diplomatic crisis at the end of last year, the time seems to be gradually warming up relations.
In Emmanuel Macron’s letter delivered to his counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the French head of state evokes a ” next » visit to Algeria.
► Also to listen to Benjamin Stora: “The war in Algeria still arouses passions because of deep wounds”