On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that France's foreign policy has improved over the past few years, and that bilateral relations between the France and Algeria governments are cordial.
In a statement, Macron said: "My wish is calming down because I think it's better to talk and to make progress", adding that his relations with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune were "truly cordial".
These remarks came just a week after a bitter row over visas, followed by media reports that Macron had told descendants of Algeria's war of independence that the North African country was ruled by a "political-military system" that had "totally re-written" its history.
Last week, Macron met with 18 young people of Algerian origin at the Elysée Palace to try to heal the wounds in France arising from the Algerian war of independence that have persisted for generations.
Speaking to Algerian youth at the Elysée, Macron criticized what he called the Algerian state’s “rewriting of history” based not on facts but on discourse that depended on “hatred of France”.
The speech, and Macron’s pronouncements after this meeting, infuriated many Algerians, with the government and Algerian politician parties taking the lead in denouncing the French President’s offensive attitudes.
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