French President Emmanuel Macron thinks war between Morocco and Algeria is unlikely, given the affects of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the international community.
In a lengthy interview with the newspaper “Le Point,” the President of the French Republic stressed that “it is not possible to imagine the outbreak of an armed conflict in the Maghreb region,” and called for “calming” of tensions between Algeria and Morocco.
He said he did not believe in a war between these neighbors, pointing to “speculation, imagination, and even the will for war among some actors.”
As for Paris, Macron states that stability in North Africa is important and necessary, ruling out the possibility of a war between the Moroccan and Algerian neighbours.
Macron additionally affirmed his country does not intend to apologize to Algeria for the shared colonial history, but hopes to welcome Abdelmadjid Tebboune to France in 2023 to continue the reconciliation project between the two countries.
“I do not have to apologize to the Algerians, this is not my goal,” Macron said in a lengthy interview with Algerian writer Kamel Daoud in the French weekly, published on Wednesday evening.
He continued, “I also hope that President Tebboune will be able to come to France in 2023, in order to continue an unprecedented work of friendship,” after his visit to Algeria in August 2022.
In response to a question about the possibility of the Algerian president holding a meditation ceremony in the graves of the members of Abdelkader’s wing, the heroes of the resistance to French colonialism buried in Amboise, Macron considered that it would be “a very beautiful and very powerful moment,” adding: “This will have meaning in the history of the Algerian people.”
For the French people, Macron continues, “it will be an opportunity to understand truths that are often hidden,” while the issue of apology remains at the heart of bilateral relations and recurring tensions between the two countries.
In 2020, Algeria welcomed a report by French historian Benjamin Stora calling for a series of initiatives to try to reconcile the two countries, which excluded repentance and apologies.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, the French President added: “African countries cannot support Russia in this war or take a neutral position, because the matter is related to the sovereignty of states,” referring to the Algerian military regime’s support for Moscow.
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