It is now half a century since Algeria, the jewel in the crown of Gallic imperialism, was finally granted independence — ending 132 years of often barbarous rule from Paris that culminated in a war in which more than a million Algerians died. Last week, the French President, Francois Hollande, was on a two-day state visit to the country. His main task was effectively to offer a qualified apology for what happened and thus “turn a page” in arguably the darkest chapter in France’s recent history. Moreover, Hollande aimed to use the platitudinous jargon of modern global government to make the case for increased economic integration between the two countries, highlighting France’s continuing friendship with her oil and gas-rich North African partner.
Apologies and clean slates are to be welcomed in any language. Bitterness over a uniquely savage history achieves nothing in terms of economic policy. France is now Algeria’s main trade partner and it has to compete with countries including Britain, China and the US for highly lucrative markets. Algeria’s President, Abdul Aziz Bouteflika, was expected to use the two-day visit to show off positive business developments in the relationship between the two countries, including the building of a new Renault factory in Oran and the signing of at least 15 new contracts for the construction of trams, water-treatment plants, telecommunications and other infrastructure projects.
There is irony in Hollande, a socialist with an avowed dislike of the go-getting rich, seeking to expunge a dark colonial legacy with the promise of corporate profit. However, he has displayed a genuine commitment to change. His presidential entourage in Algeria is one of the biggest ever and he will become the first French head of state to address both houses of parliament in Algiers since the country’s independence in 1962. Earlier this year, Hollande broke the official state silence over the murders of as many as 200 Algerians (estimates of the exact number vary) during a pro-independence demonstration in Paris in October 1961, recognising the “bloody repression” of thousands of Algerians living in mainland France.
What Hollande’s trip to Algeria fails to acknowledge, however, is just how oppressed so many French-Algerians still feel today. This is not because of what happened to their parents or grandparents, but because of the uniquely divisive way in which France continues to treat people still viewed as immigrants, rather than bona fide citizens.
Decades which saw France denying political rights and using overwhelming force to maintain its colony created a two-tier system which, in simple terms, involved a ruling French class and a servile Algerian one. This, equally starkly, is why French-Algerian communities still live on impoverished housing estates, go to bad schools, and have few opportunities for social advancement. At best they get menial jobs, at worst they end up unemployed or in prison.
Secular France is officially colour-blind, meaning that politicians are not allowed to offer statistics about French-Algerians. However, sociological studies routinely reveal scandalous discrimination against up to four million of them in everything from jobs to housing. Woeful under-representation can be seen throughout public life. There are pitifully few French-Algerians in politics, the law, the media or any other profession.
Hollande has done very little to address the problems experienced by Algerians living in France, including growing Islamophobia. He refuses to reverse measures like the burqa ban and has highlighted his opposition to halal meat and praying in the street because of a lack of mosques. Anti-discrimination laws are way down his agenda, despite the fact that stigmatisation is likely to increase as the effects of economic austerity polices become more apparent.
Populist rightwing politicians like Marine Le Pen and Nicolas Sarkozy, meanwhile, routinely portray alienated immigrant communities as France’s “enemy within”, imposing their foreign lifestyles on an otherwise prosperous modern democracy. Le Pen, who achieved a fifth of the popular vote in the first round of May’s presidential elections, equates immigration from Algeria with an increased risk of terrorism.
Hollande’s well-crafted business-speak and worthy pronouncements in Algeria will do nothing to change any of this. By concentrating on commerce he ignores the underlying disdain that many Algerians still hold for a French establishment that offers them little beyond suspicion and prejudice.
— Guardian News & Media Ltd
Nabila Ramdani is a Paris-born journalist of Algerian descent.
