French President Emmanuel Macron has indicated Wednesday that he will not ask for «forgiveness» from Algeria for the European country’s history of colonization.
Macron has responded directly in the negative to requests for apologies made by Algeria, he said in an interview for the French weekly ‘Le Point’.
«I don’t have to apologize, that’s not the point, the word would break the ties, I will not apologize to Algeria,» the president has declared before explaining that «the worst thing would be to conclude that we apologize and everyone goes his own way.»
«The false response is as violent as the denial, because, in this case, it is not a true recognition», added the French president.
Thus, Macron has argued it is better to recognize «that there is something unspeakable» or even «unforgivable», while he has recommended to «look squarely» at French history.
«The ability to face this history in the framework of a healthy Franco-Algerian relationship is the possibility of founding a normal and fruitful bilateral relationship with the African continent,» he said.
In this regard, he indicated that he expects a «real desire on the part of the (Algerian) president, Abdelmajid Tebune, to initiate a new stage» in bilateral relations, inviting him to visit Paris in 2023.
On the other hand, the French leader has called for the «appeasement» of Algeria’s tensions with its neighboring country, Morocco, since Algiers announced in August 2021 that it was breaking off diplomatic relations due to a series of circumstances among which he cited progress in the resolution of the open dispute over Western Sahara.
Rabat called the severance of relations «unjustified», regretting the decision and rejecting «categorically the fallacious, even absurd, pretexts underlying the decision».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
