The Paper's reporter Yu Xiaoxuan
"The relationship of trust" and "the spirit of partnership", and the "exchange of the leaders of the two countries until late at night", these are the keywords summarized by the Elysée Palace for French President Macron's "work and friendship trip" in Algeria at the end of August.
On August 27, 2022, local time, French President Macron (left) and Algerian President Abdel-Majid Teben (right) attend the signing ceremony at the Hall of Honor in Algiers, Algeria. Visual China figure
"It's like a love story with a sad side. If there is no anger at the beginning, the two sides cannot reconcile. In response to media skepticism, Macron said, "Since I became president, I have been trying to look directly at our past." He smiled and answered sharp questions about last fall's dispute between the two countries, as if everything had been turned upside down.
Last September, Algeria recalled its ambassador to France and closed its airspace to France as Macron criticized Algeria's post-independence "political-military system" during a meeting with descendants of Algerian veterans, coupled with tensions over France's previous reduction in the number of visas. "Before the French colonization, was there a country called Algeria?" The French media even exposed Macron's astonishing remarks at the time.
In 1962, Algeria experienced a long war of independence and finally became independent from France. For more than a hundred years before that, it was not just a French colony, but was run as a province by the French rulers, so that in the 60 years of Algeria's independence, France still could not let go of the "former suzerainty" complex. Now, in order to get relations back on track and to secure supplies from Algeria in a time of Europe's energy crisis, the ambitious Macron seems to want to break that.
Sensitivity remains untouchable
After Macron's meeting with Algerian President Teben, the two sides signed the Algerian Declaration on "Building a New Type of Ambitious Partnership". But in French media reports, the unfolding of the visit was "shrouded in vague discourse" and the planning process was repeatedly changed. It also proves that in order to get relations back on track, Macron has to carefully circumvent sensitive issues.
On the visa issue that caused controversy last year, Macron promised to break the deadlock. The number of Algerian nationals granted Visas to France has fallen from 430,000 in 2017 to 61,000 in 2021, a change in data that is partly related to the COVID-19 pandemic but also reflects Algeria's reluctance to accept undocumented immigrants deported by France, According to Le Figaro. But in early 2022, the two sides began a reconciliation effort.
"On this very sensitive topic, we have to be cautious at the same time." Macron said a policy against illegal immigration is needed first, while also adopting a more flexible visa policy for specific immigrants, and he promised that the plan "will advance in the coming weeks to months" but did not give a specific plan.
On the more sensitive issue of historical memory, Macron announced the creation of a commission on the history of the colonial and revolutionary wars, composed of French and Algerian historians. Macron said the commission must be "free, free, historical and fully utilizing existing archives to work without taboos."
On August 26, 2022 local time, in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, French President Macron (center) visited the ghetto of St. Eugene Cemetery. Visual China figure
Just as he embarked on a visit after the explosion in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, in 2020, Macron's high-profile tour of Algeria drew much criticism. On the first day of his trip on 25 August, Macron visited st. Eugene Cemetery on the outskirts of Algiers and laid wreaths at the Monument to the Unknown Who "Died for France", with the French national anthem "Marseillaise" in the background. In the eyes of the French Middle Eastern historian Gilles Kebel, this atmosphere is inevitably a little strange. "It reminds me of the cemetery of a province inside France." He paused for a moment and told The New York Times, "Actually, that's what it looks like. ”
"When it comes to memory, we are often asked to choose: to be proud of it, or to repent." Macron said, "But for me, I want truth and recognition, otherwise we would never move forward." But that's exactly what makes Algerians unhappy — macron, who, before becoming president in 2017, also called French colonization in Algeria a "crime against humanity" took a 180-degree turn in office.
"In Algeria, Mr. Macron lacked the courage of a great leader." The Algiers Evening News, Algeria's third-largest French-language newspaper, accused Macron of failing to retract the "great lie" that "Algeria was created by France" in its front-page commentary. It also shows that algerians' deep resentment of France is difficult to fade.
On August 27, 2022, local time, Oran, Algeria, French President Emmanuel Macron (center left) left after visiting a disco. Visual China figure
Macron was photographed smiling and waving at a crowd in Oran, Algeria's second-largest city, on Aug. 28, while behind him, many young people chanting "Long live Algeria" gathered to insult him. In response, Macron accused some countries of "huge manipulation", he said Turkey, Russia and other countries in Algeria carried out "anti-French propaganda", he hopes that African and Algerian youth will not regard France as an "enemy".
But the remarks provoked protests from Turkey. "This is unacceptable." The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Aug. 28 that "Macron has a hard time confronting the colonial history in Africa, especially in Algeria, which he is trying to get rid of by blaming other countries, including Turkey." ”
"Not for natural gas"?
Before Macron, every French president except De Gaulle and Pompidou had visited Algeria. In 1975, Destin was the first Visiting French President since Algeria's independence. "Historic France pays tribute to independent Algeria." Destin said at the time. In the eyes of then-Algerian President Boumedin, the visit was an "extraordinary event." At the time of the oil crisis triggered by the Fourth Middle East War, Algeria was the main oil producer in solidarity with the Palestinians in promoting production cuts.
The state of affairs today is inevitably similar to that of then. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has led to soaring energy costs in Europe, and European countries have to abandon low-cost Gazprom to start paving the way for supply diversification.
During the trip, macron sharply retorted to those who accused himself of visiting in order to win the gas contract, "This is nonsense!" According to him, France's energy mix rarely relies on natural gas, accounting for only 20 percent of the total, of which only 8 percent comes from Algeria.
But does France really not need natural gas? Maybe Macron is just talking about "face talk." "As elsewhere in Europe, France cannot claim to be able to overcome the economic difficulties associated with Russia's gas outages." Algerian economist Abdelkad Mehdar told France Euro 1. "Macron faces the challenge of securing supply in the domestic market, where the French market is actually preparing for the imposition of energy consumption limits."
On April 12, 2022 local time, Algeria's capital Algiers, Algerian President Teben held talks with visiting Italian Prime Minister Draghi in Algiers. The two sides signed a joint statement aimed at strengthening cooperation in the field of energy. People's Vision Diagram
Compared with France, Italy has already contacted Algeria many times. In April, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visited Algeria accompanied by the country's energy giant ENI boss to sign a contract with Algerian operator Sonatrach to procure additional natural gas from this year. As the EU's rotating presidency, France's joint gas procurement project mentioned this spring remains uncertain, while Italy has negotiated additional supplies from Algeria.
Despite Macron's claims that it has "no intention at all to compete with Italy," Algerian President Tebben said the share of additional exports was "good for Italy and good for Europe." Le Figaro reported that Tebben then "added vaguely" that "we will try to do more for France." ”
According to Euro 1, Algeria can increase its gas shipments to France by 50%. Mehdar said France wants to retain more of Algeria's share of gas in the medium term, but he also noted that a real increase in deliveries will take time because Algeria is "in a state of capacity depletion, as is the case in almost all gas-producing countries."
"This proves the need for France's commitment to help develop Algeria's productive capacity, and also means the need for investment and technical assistance from French companies, namely Total." Mehdar said. French oil company Total, which has been operating in Algeria since 1952, renewed a contract with Algerian Sonatrach and Italy's ENI last July that will help Algeria develop resources over the next 25 years. Recently, discussions on further cooperation are also under way.
On August 25, 2022 local time, Algiers, Algeria, French President Macron (right) and Algerian President Abdul-Majid Teben (left) left after a joint press conference held at the Presidential Palace. Visual China figure
Macron was accompanied by executives from French energy company Engie during the visit. The company had already signed an agreement with Algeria on price revisions last July, which said it wanted to supply engie with more gas. Whether this vision can become a reality will depend on the evolution of bilateral relations after Macron's visit.
Editor-in-Charge: Zhang Wuwei Photo Editor: Zhu Weihui
Proofreader: Ding Xiao