Algeria’s parliament has unanimously passed a law calling France’s colonisation of Algeria a crime. The lawmakers wore scarves in national flag colors and chanted “long live Algeria” during the vote. The law says France holds “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused.” Parliament speaker Ibrahim Boughali said the vote sends “a clear message, both internally and externally, that Algeria’s national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable.” The bill lists crimes such as nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, torture, and the plundering of resources. It demands “full and fair compensation for all material and moral damages caused by French colonisation.” France ruled Algeria from 1830 to 1962. This period included mass killings, deportations, and a bloody independence war from 1954 to 1962. Algeria estimates 1.5 million deaths during the war, while French historians say 500,000 died, including 400,000 Algerians. French President Emmanuel Macron called colonisation a “crime against humanity” but has not apologized. The French foreign ministry declined to comment on the Algerian vote. Historian Hosni Kitouni said the law has no legal force internationally and is not binding on France, but its political and symbolic impact marks a shift in memory between the two nations.