President of France Emmanuel Macron arrived today for a three-day official visit to Algeria with the aim of “repairing” bilateral relations that have been plagued by disagreements stemming from the burdens of the past.

The plane of the head of the French state, accompanied by a delegation of more than 90 people, landed at noon in Algiers.

The President of France was met at the airport by his Algerian counterpart Abdelmajid Tebun with military honors. The two men embraced before walking under the awning to the accompaniment of the two countries’ national anthems played by a military band.

For Paris, the main goal of the visit is to “rebuild” bilateral relations on the basis of “youth and the future.”

For Algeria, the visit confirms its strategic and diplomatic importance in North Africa and the Sahel.

The two leaders then proceeded to the Monument to the Martyrs, an important site for Algerians commemorating the War of Independence (1954-1962) against France.

This will be followed by a face-to-face meeting, a statement to the media, and then dinner at the People’s Palace.

The visit is timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the end of the war and the declaration of independence of Algeria in 1962. But the French president says he is primarily determined to direct the visit to “the youth and the future.”

On the Algerian side, Macron’s arrival was seen as a sign of a desire to “promote a new vision based on equal treatment and a balance of interests,” according to the official Algerian news agency APS.

The “political necessity” of improving relations

Macron’s decision to make the trip at the start of his second five-year term is also in line with, according to Algeria, “recognition of Algeria’s important role in the region” and “the dynamic return of Algerian diplomacy to the international stage.”

“Given the risk of instability in the Maghreb, the conflicts in the Sahel and the war in Ukraine, improving relations between France and Algeria is being imposed as a political necessity,” analyzes Algerian political scientist Mansour Kedidir.

Since the start of the war with Russia, Algeria, Africa’s first natural gas producer and one of the top ten in the world, has been in demand by Europeans who want to reduce their dependence on Russian gas.

Algerian natural gas “isn’t really the subject of the visit” and “there won’t be any major contract announcements or major negotiations,” Elysee says, although energy giant Engie’s head Katherine McGregor is part of the accompanying delegation. Macron.

The two presidents will also discuss the situation in Mali, from which the French army has recently withdrawn, and the growing Russian threat in Africa.

Algeria plays a central role in the region due to thousands of kilometers of borders with Mali, Niger and Libya. He also maintains a close relationship with Russia, the number one arms supplier.

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This is Macron’s second visit to Algeria as president, following his first visit in December 2017.

Relations between the two countries were hailed as promising at the time, with a new French president born after 1962 and freed from the burden of a history that called French colonialism a “crime against humanity”.

But the relationship ended abruptly, trapped in memories that are still hard to reconcile after 132 years of colonial rule, bloody war and the departure of a million French from Algeria in 1962.

While still a presidential candidate, Macron certainly called colonialism a “crime against humanity” and stepped up gestures of reconciliation during his first term.

But the apologies expected by Algeria for colonialism were never made, despite the outstretched hand of the French president, and this issue exacerbated the misunderstandings.

In October 2021, statements by Macron blaming the Algerian “military-political system” for its stance on the issue of memory and his questions about the existence of an Algerian nation before colonialism led to a rift.

Since then, the tenant of the Elysee Palace has made amends, and the two presidents have decided to restore cooperation between the two countries.

The sensitive issue of visas issued by France will also be at the center of the debate, as Emmanuel Macron decided in 2021 to halve the number of visas due to Algeria’s reluctance to re-admit unwanted citizens to France.

As part of his visit, Macron will also meet on Friday with Algerian young entrepreneurs.

^{Source: APE, AFP, Reuters.}