The visit, which took place from 25 to 27 August, coincided with the 60th anniversary of the end of the war and the proclamation of Algeria’s independence in 1962 President Tebboune hailed an “excellent and successful visit” by his French counterpart to Algeria ALGIERS: Historic visit, renewed partnership, new and irreversible dynamic of progress, reconciliation, so many reverberating slogans that accompanied the three-day visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Algeria. Intended to “rebuild” bilateral relations with Algiers, the visit, which took place from 25 to 27 August, coincided with the 60th anniversary of the end of the war and the proclamation of Algeria’s independence in 1962. This strongly emblematic visit aims at dispelling tensions between two nations whose histories are deeply intertwined. The memorial issue around French colonization (1830-1962) had indeed caused a serious quarrel between the two countries last autumn. The objective seems to have been achieved. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and French President Emmanuel Macron sealed the reconciliation between Paris and Algiers on Saturday by signing the Algiers Declaration, which “renews their commitment to inscribe their relations in a dynamic of irreversible progress". At the signing ceremony, Tebboune addressed his guest in French, gushing over an “excellent and successful visit by his French counterpart to Algeria.” It allowed for “a rapprochement which would not have been possible without the personality of President Macron himself,” he argued. The Algerian president also stressed that from now on, the two countries will “be able to work together in many areas outside Algeria and France,” explaining that “this merger will allow us to go very far.” Tebboune referred to the high-level meeting that brought together in Algiers on Friday the presidents and security services of both sides, including the army, “for the first time since “the independence of Algeria in 1962.” This visit, beyond its symbolic significance, offers to the two countries an opportunity to strengthen their ties in all areas. In addition to the French colonization matter, the issue of visas had spoiled the bilateral relationship when Paris decided in the autumn of 2021 to halve the number granted to Algeria, deemed not quick enough to readmit its nationals expelled from France. The two countries agreed to fight illegal immigration while facilitating procedures for “dual nationals, artists, businessmen and politicians who strengthen bilateral relations.” A joint French-Algerian commission of historians would be set up to “study” the archives of the colonial period, “without taboos.” In Algiers, not everyone was satisfied by the French president’s visit, with many Algerians waiting for a proper apology from Mr. Macron for the colonization and for his remarks in the autumn of 2021, wondering about the existence of an Algerian nation before the landing of the French army in June 1830. A successful visit indeed as described by President Tebboune, but whose repercussions will have to be confirmed in the coming months.