For decades, France refrained from acknowledging the massacres that took place in Algeria's Sétif, Guelma, and Kherrata on 8 May 1945, in which French colonial forces killed Algerians in mass during the final days of World War II.
Yet, last week, as Algerian officials gathered to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the killings, a group of French lawmakers joined them and officially described it as "a massacre".
"We are a group of elected officials who work extensively on recognising the massacres of 8 May 1945. We have asked President Macron to acknowledge it as a crime of state", said Sabrina Sebaihi, an MP from the Europe Écologie–Les Verts group on Saturday 10 May.
The French delegation, which consisted mainly of thirty left-wing MPs and senators, spent the past year advocating for the recognition of these killings as "crimes of state".
They have interviewed historians and survivors, demanded full access to colonial archives, and urged French President Emmanuel Macron to confront a chapter of France's past that has long been obscured.
Their visit to Algeria, a first for a French parliamentary delegation to mark this anniversary, was intended as both a gesture of remembrance and an act of reconciliation.
"These Algerians marched peacefully in the euphoria of victory against Nazism", said Akli Mellouli, a French senator of Algerian descent, during a formal ceremony near Algiers, earlier last week.
"They shouted, 'Down with fascism and colonialism,' and they were killed for seeking what they had defended for others."
Commemoration events took place at the Palais des Nations in Chéraga, a grand conference venue outside the Algerian capital.
Inside the ornate hall, some Algerian officials stood side by side with the French lawmakers, despite ongoing tensions between the two countries, reported AFP.
Meanwhile, President Macron, on the same day, marked the end of the World War II under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, stating, "In May 1945, violence and massacres foreshadowed history," specifically mentioning Sétif, Kherrata, and Guelma—a rare albeit cautious public acknowledgement of the massacre.
What began as peaceful, pro-independence protests in eastern Algeria during the final days of World War II ended tragically with mass killings by French colonial forces.
Algerian historians estimate that approximately 45,000 people were killed in the weeks that followed, while French sources estimate the number to be between 15,000 and 20,000.
"It remains very present in the national consciousness", said Mohamed Bouabdallah, an Algerian MP and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
"This delegation's visit is a significant gesture and shows that recognition is possible."
This visit comes amid one of the worst diplomatic crises between Algiers and Paris since independence.
France and Algeria's ongoing diplomatic crisis
Since las summer, diplomatic relations have been strained, particularly following Paris' recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara—an area Algeria does not recognise as Moroccan territory.
The arrest in France of three individuals, including a consular employee, linked to the 2024 abduction of anti-regime influencer Amir Boukhors has fulled the conflict.
Algeria responded by expelling twelve French diplomats, and France retaliated. Additionally, France's ambassador to Algeria has yet to return.
The rift further intensified when Algerian courts issued international arrest warrants for Franco-Algerian author Kamel Daoud.
Earlier this spring, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot travelled to Algiers to announce a "new phase" in relations, however the reconciliation process shortly failed. "The situation is blocked," he acknowledged in early May.
This parliamentary visit was uncertain until the last minute, with visas granted just a day before departure. The trip was not made public until the delegation had arrived.
Relations between the upper houses of both countries remain frozen, particularly after Gérard Larcher, president of the French Senate, met Moroccan officials in Western Sahara where Algeria supports the separatist front of Polisario.
A recent resolution adopted by the French parliament, urging the release of jailed Algerian author Boualem Sansal, further exacerbated tensions.
"When relations between governments are strained, parliamentary diplomacy allows us to maintain open communication," said Senator Adel Ziane.