French President Emmanuel Macron continues his visit to Algeria. On Friday 26 August 2022, the second day of this friendship visit, he went in the morning to the cemetery of Saint-Eugène, in the suburbs of Algiers, the capital. Within the walls of the city’s main cemetery, which dates back to colonisation, he paid tribute to the memory of the soldiers who “died for France” before asking us to look at the past with courage.
After paying tribute to the soldiers who died for France at the Saint-Eugène cemetery, Emmanuel Macron sent a strong message to both France and Algeria. According to the French President, there is no future without working on the past.
A joint commission to reconstruct the history between Algeria and France.
On his way out of this Christian and Jewish cemetery which dates back to the colonisation, the French Head of State recalled, as he announced on Thursday, the creation of a joint commission of historians to work on the colonisation from 1830 to the war of liberation. For Macron, this is a historic step. From the details given, the commission will be composed of five to six French historians and five to six Algerian historians. All French and Algerian archives would be opened, Emmanuel Macron reassured. He says that he has committed himself in confidence while sharing the same objective with President Tebboune.
France-Algeria union to overcome the pain of history.
France and Algeria have a shared history, which is painful but which should not prevent the two countries from moving forward together, said President Emmanuel Macron. According to him, it is time to look history in the face and acknowledge historical truths.
Algerian gas, an important issue for Macron.
The help of Algiers “to diversify” Europe’s gas supplies by increasing its exports to Italy was welcomed by Emmanuel Macron during this trip. This seems to be a great relief for the French Head of State, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine and the decrease in Russian gas deliveries. “We are not in competition with Italy” on Algerian gas, Macron said, while stressing the “low weight of gas in the energy mix” of France.
“It’s good for Italy, it’s good for Europe and it improves the diversification of Europe, which was previously too dependent on Russian gas,” concluded Emmanuel Macron.
As a reminder, Algeria is Africa’s leading gas exporter and supplies around 11% of the gas consumed in Europe. And since the beginning of 2022, it has already supplied Italy with 13.9 billion cubic metres, exceeding the previously planned volumes by 113%.
