France’s Macron woos Algeria, but can’t erase colonial scars

THE leaders of France and Algeria took an important step Saturday toward mending relations scarred by disputes over migration and the legacy of colonial crimes, agreeing to cooperate on energy, security and reassessing their joint history.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrapped up a three-day visit to Algeria with a raft of accords that France hopes will smooth ties with Africa’s largest country, a major gas and oil supplier to Europe and an influential regional military player.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune hailed “an excellent and very successful” visit and credited Macron’s personal efforts toward rapprochement. The two were chummy at their final meeting Saturday, smiling, embracing and holding hands. Tebboune specifically praised an unprecedented joint security meeting, without elaborating.

But the accords released by Macron’s office were thin on specifics, and stop far short of an official apology for France’s colonial-era wrongdoing, which Algerians have long clamored for.

The countries agreed to cooperate on gas