French President Francois Hollande put an end to a historic and ethical debate concerning his country's occupation of Algeria by admitting that the colonial system has wronged the Algerian people and subjected the country to a tyrannical and unjust regime. As the Algerians were listening to the apology, the acknowledgment of the Elysee was a way to bear the responsibility, especially that no previous French official had tackled this hot matter before, thus subjecting the relationships of the two countries to additional turmoil and estrangement. President Hollande took a leap forward, since he is eying the promising horizons that can be achieved through the positive normalization of the relations between Paris and Algeria. His ethical acknowledgement will not be bringing any embarrassments to his country, considering that he is a man with a democratic and socialist tendency, which opposes the tendencies of the conservatives. Algeria, on the other hand, has made a major accomplishment by taking control of its relationship with France even though it hadn't officially asked for an apology. The mere mentioning of Algeria's name in France raises controversies. This also applies to the mention of France's name in Algeria. The timing of the apology helped to induce an agreement in the points of view that were once estranged. The North African capitals, including Algiers, used to aspire for an equal dialogue with the European partner that drifted away during times of prosperity and opened up instead to the Eastern European countries which had just stepped out from the cold war. Now however, the European countries are looking for the lost paradise in the Maghreb region. Indeed, the economic and fiscal crisis exceeded the internal options and called for seeking external partners. The closest such partners are the countries of the Mediterranean southern bank, which are only separated from Europe by the Gibraltar Passageway. Interestingly in this context, President Hollande, who had pushed out his adversary Nicolas Sarkozy from the political arena, had no problem to reactivate his plan, the “Union for the Mediterranean." The proof is that he wanted to turn this union into a strategic option including all the partners. This means that the statement he made in Algeria aimed at sending clear messages to the Maghreb capitals. In this sense, opting to start with an official visit to Algeria before moving to Morocco at the beginning of the upcoming year was not an indication of preferences. This move was dictated by considerations pertaining to the French priorities. Since the relations with Rabat are sound, opening up to Algeria is a must in the context of a minute balance. The French sum this up by saying that the relationship with Algeria will not be at the expense of Morocco. Similarly, the relationships with Rabat do not happen at the expense of Algeria. However, this openness is not paralleled by a similar endeavor on the part of the two neighboring countries, which keep saying that they do not need any mediation as long as the communication channels between them are open. However, this conviction has not been translated into tangible measures on the ground. The acknowledgment of massacres and acts of violence carried by the French upon their occupation of Algeria will remain lacking as long as the deep reasons and the historic roots for the degradation of the relationship between Algiers and Rabat have not been revealed. This is a matter of concern for historians and researchers. However, dialogue concerning this phase can help pinpoint some of the defects pertaining to the border demarcation and Sahara files. Indeed, the ‘black boxes' that must be undusted do not lie in Morocco or Algeria but rather within the French and Spanish archives. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was able to achieve a major breakthrough in the relationships of his country with France. His passion for history and his fondness of the minute details that he used in his diplomatic pleadings to defend the Algerian cause enabled him to list the option of reconciliation as a priority with the aim of repairing the damage lived by his country throughout the tragic episodes of power struggle during the 1980s. No one had expected Paris to acknowledge the crimes committed by its troops in Algeria when the latter was a French district that France never dreamt of ever leaving. However, the Algerians and victims of the families have a different dream, one that involves the Algerian authorities revisiting the other heated years. This has been achieved through the experience of a man who obtained recognition from his adversary and who paved the way for the experience of reconciliation that brought back the warmth to the broken hearts. This openness will lead to clearing the atmosphere with the least amount of trouble. The conflict was quite extensive and all the means were used. The Algerians have a right to learn the additional details concerning the experience that they were only able to overcome with a great deal of pain and sacrifices. This could be one of the characteristics of the Algerian experience which is quite special and bold since it will lighten up the burdens of this massive weight that is hindering progress.
