I will not "ask forgiveness" from Algeria for French colonization, French President Emmanuel Macron said

Emmanuel Macron was born on December 21, 1977 in the city of Amiens.

He is the youngest president of but hopes to continue working for reconciliation with his colleague Abdelmajid Tebun.

"It's not up to me to ask for forgiveness, that's not what it's about, that word would break all our ties," he said in an interview with Le Point magazine.

"The worst thing would be to decide: 'We apologize and everyone goes their own way,'" Macron said.

"Working on memory and history is not settling all accounts," he added.

In the interview, he also expressed hope that Teboune "will be able to come to France in 2023 to replicate Macron's own trip to Algeria last year and continue their "unprecedented work of friendship."

Algeria's 100-year colonization by France and the brutal 1954-62 war of independence have left deep scars on both countries, which Macron has both incited and soothed throughout his political career.

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In 2017, then-presidential candidate Macron called the French occupation a "crime against humanity."

A 2020 report he commissioned from historian Benjamin Stora recommended further steps to reconcile the two sides, while ruling out "remorse" and "apologies".

Macron also questioned whether Algeria existed as a nation before it was colonized by France, prompting an angry response from Algeria.

"These moments of tension teach us," Macron said in an interview with Algerian writer Kamel Daoud.

"You have to be able to reach out and engage again, which I and President Tebun were able to do," he added.

He supported Teboune's proposal to visit the graves of the 19th-century Algerian anti-colonial hero Abdelkader and his entourage, who are buried in Amboise in central France.

"It would make sense for the history of the Algerian people. For the French people, it would be an opportunity to understand realities that often remain hidden," Macron said.

Algeria and France maintained lasting ties through immigration, involvement in the conflict for independence, and the post-war repatriation of French settlers.

They reach more than 10 million people who live in France today. 

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