Pierre Vermeren doesn't sugarcoat the truth. The renowned French historian has spent decades pulling at the frayed threads of the relationship between France and Algeria, and his verdict is often uncomfortable. It’s not just a story of a messy divorce. It’s a story of two countries that remain biologically, economically, and emotionally fused, even as they scream at each other across the Mediterranean. If you want to understand why a diplomatic spat in 2024 or 2025 can still spark riots or deep political crises, you have to look at the "calcified" memory Vermeren describes.
The bond is unique. It’s not like the British in India or the Belgians in the Congo. For over a century, Algeria was legally part of France. It wasn't just a colony; it was three French departments. When that bond broke in 1962, it didn't just leave a scar. It left an open wound that neither side seems particularly keen on healing. Vermeren’s work maps this minefield with a precision that makes politicians on both sides of the water nervous.
The Myth of the Clean Break
Most people think history is a series of chapters. One ends, another begins. That's a lie when it comes to the Maghreb. Vermeren argues that the 1962 Evian Accords, which ended the war of independence, were supposed to be a starting point. Instead, they became a straightjacket.
The French government at the time, led by Charles de Gaulle, wanted out. They were tired of the blood and the cost. But you can't just undo 132 years of settlement and integration with a signature. Millions of people were displaced. The "Pieds-Noirs" (European settlers) fled to a France they barely knew. The "Harkis" (Algerians who fought for France) were largely abandoned to a horrific fate. This wasn't a transition. It was a lobotomy.
Vermeren points out that the current Algerian regime—essentially a military-backed system—derives its entire legitimacy from the war against France. If they stop being "anti-colonial," they lose their reason to exist. This creates a cycle where the Algerian leadership needs France to be the villain. Meanwhile, French politicians use the "Algerian question" to score points with right-wing voters or to pander to a massive diaspora. Nobody is actually talking about the future. They’re all just arguing about 1954.
The Demographic Reality Nobody Mentions
You can't talk about these ties without talking about the people. There are roughly several million people in France today with direct links to Algeria. This isn't just a "minority group." It's a fundamental part of the French DNA. Vermeren often highlights that the border between the two countries isn't the sea—it’s the kitchen table in suburbs across Marseille, Lyon, and Paris.
- The Diaspora Paradox: Many third-generation Algerians in France feel more connected to the "myth" of the homeland than the reality.
- The Brain Drain: While the Algerian government rails against French influence, its elite still sends its children to French schools and its sick to French hospitals.
- The Economic Ghost: France remains a massive trading partner, yet the rhetoric suggests they're mortal enemies.
This hypocrisy is what Vermeren excels at exposing. He notes that the "Great Silence" of the 1970s and 80s has been replaced by a "Great Noise." Everyone is talking now, but they're mostly shouting. The French state has tried to make amends—Macron has been more active here than any predecessor—but gestures like returning skulls or acknowledging specific murders (like that of Maurice Audin) are often seen as "too little, too late" by Algiers.
Why the Memory War is Getting Worse
It feels like we're moving backward. You'd think that sixty years later, the heat would die down. It hasn't. Vermeren suggests this is because the "rent of memory" is too valuable. In Algeria, when the economy tanks or the "Hirak" protest movement gains steam, the government pulls the "French interference" card. It's an easy win. It distracts from the fact that the country hasn't diversified its economy away from oil and gas.
In France, the rise of the far-right has made the history of Algeria a cultural battleground. Figures like Éric Zemmour or Marine Le Pen have used the trauma of the 1962 exodus to fuel a narrative of "lost France." They've turned a historical tragedy into a modern political weapon. This makes it impossible for a historian like Vermeren to just be a historian. His maps of the past are constantly being used to draw the battle lines of the present.
The Geopolitical Chessboard
It’s not just about feelings. It’s about power. Algeria is a gas giant. In the wake of the Ukraine conflict, Europe—and France specifically—became desperate for Algerian energy. This gave Algiers massive leverage. They know France needs their gas, and they know France needs their cooperation to stop migration and fight terrorism in the Sahel.
Vermeren’s analysis often touches on this transactional bitterness. France wants a "normal" relationship. Algeria wants an "apology." But an apology is a complicated thing in international law. It carries the weight of reparations and legal precedents. So, we get these "memory commissions" and "joint committees." They meet, they talk, they produce a report, and then a politician says something stupid on TV and the whole thing resets.
The tragedy here, as Vermeren might say, is that the two countries are stuck in a room together and both have lost the key. They speak the same language—literally and figuratively—but they use it to misunderstand each other.
Moving Beyond the Stagnation
If you're looking for a happy ending, you won't find it in Pierre Vermeren’s bibliography. He’s a realist. He sees the structural issues that keep these two nations locked in a toxic embrace. But there's a path forward if anyone is brave enough to take it. It starts with de-linking the past from the present.
Stop treating the 1962 border as a spiritual divide. Acknowledge that the "Harkis," the "Pieds-Noirs," and the "Moudjahidine" all have stories that are true, even if they contradict each other. The French state needs to stop being paternalistic, and the Algerian state needs to stop using the ghost of colonial France to justify its own failures.
Start by reading Vermeren’s "France-Algérie, les passions douloureuses." It’s not a light read, but it’s a necessary one. If you're in France, visit the Memorial of the War in Algeria at Quai Branly. If you're looking at the news and seeing another diplomatic "cooling," don't take it at face value. Look at the domestic pressures in both Paris and Algiers. The history isn't passing because the people in charge don't want it to. Real change only happens when the history is taught as a lesson, not used as a club. Check your own biases about the Mediterranean divide and realize that for millions, that sea isn't a barrier—it’s a bridge that's currently on fire.
