Macron rules out official apology for colonial abuses in Algeria

President, who once acknowledged French colonisation as a ‘crime against humanity’, rules out formal apologies.

French President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out issuing an official apology for colonial abuses in Algeria, his office said on Wednesday, ahead of a crucial report on how France is facing up to its past in the country. There will be “no repentance nor apologies” for the occupation of Algeria or the bloody eight-year war that ended French rule, Macron’s office said, adding that the president would instead take part in “symbolic acts” aimed at promoting reconciliation. The 1954-62 Algerian war of independence continues to strain relations between the two countries nearly 60 years later.