the delicate relations between France and Algeria

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is going to Algeria on Sunday, October 9, for a two-day visit, accompanied by 16 ministers. This is an opportunity to review the official visits of Presidents and Prime Ministers to this country. Visits are always tricky because of the special relationship between these two countries. In question, of course, the weight of the colonial past since 1830 and the Algerian war. There were moments of heat, like the memorable visit of President Chirac in 2003. He had given the Algerians the seal seized by France during the surrender of 1830. He wanted to obtain a treaty of friendship. But unfortunately two years later, French domestic policy changed direction. The memorial debate on colonization broke the momentum opened by his visit.

Emmanuel Macron must also reunite the two shores of the Mediterranean in order to seal a lasting friendship with Algeria. He must make people forget his clumsiness of last fall. The visit of Elisabeth Borne will undoubtedly allow a new step forward. Will it be more durable than the previous ones?