During his visit to Algeria, French President Francois Hollande tried to relieve the weight of the past wars, massacres, destruction and terrible violations perpetrated by the army of his country. He acknowledged the suffering of the Algerians but refused to apologize or to express his regret. This was a diplomatic way out that was only convincing to his hosts and to those who will be benefitting from the economic projects that Paris will soon be launching. The past is gone. The future belongs to the gas and the energy and the Renault Company, which will be establishing a car factory with cheap labor. History constitutes a barrier to progress. Hollande stressed on that. This is indeed correct, since the present wins over the past; but apologizing for history's dark phases represents a major step in the direction of overcoming them. However, colonial pride is still controlling the behavior of the white man. This pride has caused Hollande to believe that apologizing for the dark history represents an insult to Paris, half a century after the pullout of the French army. In fact, the French Socialists had opposed the pullout from Algeria and Hollande's statements indicate that they are still insisting on their “correct" stand following the pullout. Socialist President Francois Mitterrand was a minister of justice when he executed 45 Algerians, according to a book entitled “Francois Mitterrand and the Algerian War." Mitterrand opposed the pardon requests that were endorsed by the ministry of justice. The book stresses that Mitterrand was the most stringent of those who called for remaining in Algeria “so that he guarantees his persistence in the government. He also supported the general movement to accept the colonial regime and its oppressive methods." This is undoubtedly an opportunistic position that might resemble Hollande's diplomatic position, which acknowledged the suffering of the Algerians in order to obtain the contracts that he wanted. The past is not important when it comes to Arabs. But it is a different story for Jews, who are entitled to rely on a legendary past and a divine promise. The socialist atheist man becomes convinced with this promise. Remorse becomes a daily prayer. And the apology is translated into military, diplomatic, and political aid to Israel. Laws are also put in place to punish any historian who opposes this direction for charges of denial. Hollande came to Algeria to address “the facts and the history", as he said in his press conference. But in reality, in 2005, the French parliament issued a law praising colonial history. This resulted in the cancelation of the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty between the two countries. As for history, it is loaded with tragedies, and war crimes. Apologies cannot erase that, but they do represent a quality step towards a better understanding of the past in order to set for the future. With this attitude vis-à-vis Algeria and the Algerians, Hollande is speaking in the name of the entire European colonialism. The master does not apologize to the slave. He does not show remorse for killing him.
