At the end of 2025 the Algerian Parliament took a bold step by officially declaring France’s colonial rule in Algeria from 1830 to 1962 a state crime.
The law called for an apology from Paris and demanded compensation for the atrocities committed during more than a century of occupation. France immediately described the decision as hostile.
But Algeria’s move reflects a broader shift taking place across Africa. During the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in February 2026, the President of Nana Akufo-Addo presented a draft resolution calling for recognition of human trafficking during the colonial era as a crime against humanity committed by colonial powers.
Across the continent African leaders and scholars are increasingly demanding acknowledgment, restitution and justice for the immense losses suffered under colonialism.
The argument is straightforward. Europe’s modern wealth did not emerge in isolation. It was built through centuries of extraction from Africa. Millions of Africans were captured and transported through the transatlantic slave trade to build economies in Europe and the Americas.
Later colonial rule institutionalized the systematic exploitation of African labor, land and minerals. European powers seized resources, destroyed local industries and reshaped African economies to serve external interests.
Railways, ports and infrastructure were built not to develop African societies but to transport raw materials to Europe. The prosperity visible today in cities such as Paris, London and Brussels rests in part on wealth extracted from African soil and African labor.
France’s relationship with Algeria provides one of the clearest examples of this colonial exploitation. For 132 years Algeria was treated not simply as a colony but as an extension of France itself.
The colonization involved land seizures, forced displacement of millions of peasants, systematic violence and the destruction of rural economies. During the Algerian war of independence French military campaigns destroyed thousands of villages and forced more than two million peasants into tightly controlled regroupment camps.
Crops were burned, livestock confiscated and entire communities uprooted. These policies shattered Algeria’s agricultural economy and pushed many Algerians to seek survival through migration.
After Algeria gained independence in 1962 the colonial relationship did not disappear. It simply changed form. France relied heavily on North African workers to rebuild its economy after World War II and to sustain its industrial growth.
Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians became the invisible labor force behind the reconstruction of modern France. Known as Chibanis and Chibaniyates, these immigrant workers built roads, subway systems, housing projects and factories across the country.
In construction and heavy industry they performed the most dangerous and exhausting work that many French laborers refused to do.
Despite their contribution these workers faced systematic discrimination.
They were paid less than French workers, received fewer benefits and were often confined to the lowest positions regardless of their skills. Studies show that more than eighty percent of North African migrants were pushed into low paying semi skilled or unskilled jobs.
Meanwhile French workers and European migrants were far more likely to occupy higher paid positions. In cities across France many immigrants were forced to live in overcrowded barracks or segregated housing estates with poor sanitation and minimal services.
In public spaces they were frequently labeled dirty and unwanted. Racism was not incidental. It was embedded within the social structure that governed migrant labor.
The economic value of this labor was enormous. French officials themselves acknowledged that Algerian workers alone contributed billions of francs to the French economy during the 1960s.
Adjusted for today’s purchasing power the value runs into several billions of euros. At the same time French companies generated massive profits from the cheap labor of these migrants.
Major industrial giants such as Renault and Peugeot depended heavily on North African workers who were concentrated in the most dangerous and physically demanding jobs with almost no opportunity for advancement.
Behind the glamorous image of modern France lies a hidden history of sacrifice. Tourists visiting the cafés and metro stations of Paris rarely realize that thousands of Algerian laborers helped build the very streets they admire.
Many of those workers suffered workplace accidents, toxic exposure and long term illness. Some died in industrial disasters that companies attempted to conceal. Their contribution remains largely absent from public memory and official narratives.
This pattern of exploitation extends far beyond France. Across the continent European colonial powers built entire economic systems designed to extract African wealth. Belgium brutally exploited the Congo’s rubber and mineral resources.
United Kingdom reorganized large parts of eastern and southern Africa into plantation economies serving British industries. Portugal forced millions into labor regimes in Angola and Mozambique. Colonial governments imposed taxes that forced Africans into wage labor, seized fertile land for settlers and dismantled indigenous political systems.
Even after formal independence many African leaders argue that these colonial patterns evolved into modern forms of economic dependency. Through trade arrangements, debt structures and control over strategic industries Western powers continue to exert enormous influence over African economies.
This is pure neo colonialism. Under this arrangement African states remain suppliers of raw materials while industrial production and financial power remain concentrated in Europe and North America.
Calls for accountability are therefore growing louder. African governments and intellectuals increasingly argue that genuine partnership requires confronting historical truth.
During the 1990s the former president of Jerry John Rawlings openly demanded that Western nations acknowledge and compensate Africa for the devastation caused by the slave trade and colonial exploitation.
He argued that the prosperity of the West cannot be separated from centuries of African suffering and that meaningful reconciliation requires more than symbolic statements.
Compensation is often dismissed in European political circles as unrealistic. But similar processes have taken place elsewhere. Germany has acknowledged its role in the genocide against the Herero and Nama in Namibia.
Reparations were paid to victims of the Holocaust after World War II. These precedents demonstrate that historical crimes can be addressed when political will exists. The question is why Africa’s suffering continues to be treated differently.
The debate is not simply about financial payments.
It is about recognition, dignity and historical truth. For generations colonial powers portrayed their rule as a civilizing mission that brought development and order to Africa. In reality it produced displacement, forced labor, economic distortion and racial hierarchies whose consequences continue today.
Acknowledging this reality would allow a more honest relationship between Africa and Europe.
The decisions emerging from Algeria and discussions within the African Union signal a new phase in this conversation. African nations are beginning to speak with greater confidence about their history and their rights.
If the continent can build a coordinated position it will be better placed to demand fairer global partnerships and serious engagement with the legacy of colonialism.
Europe’s wealth was not built alone. It was built through centuries of African labor, African land and African resources. Until that truth is fully acknowledged and addressed the historical debt between Europe and Africa will remain unpaid.