Ecologist MP Sabrina Sebaihi and historian Fabrice Riceputi have corrected Robert Ménard following his comments regarding “French Algeria.” Sentiment against Algeria appears to be increasingly vocal in France, with Robert Ménard’s actions driven by a nostalgia for the era of French Algeria—a motivation shared by many who focus their criticism on the country.
During a recent interview, the Mayor of Béziers spoke about Algeria with visible emotion. “We were at home,” he stated. “Actually, no,” replied Sabrina Sebaihi, an MP of Algerian origin. Robert Ménard is the son of pieds-noirs. He was born in Oran in 1953, one year before the outbreak of the National Liberation War, which led to Algerian independence in 1962 and the departure of settlers and most pieds-noirs after 132 years of colonization.
According to Ménard, General De Gaulle “sold out” Algeria. “Perhaps he had his arguments, but they were inaudible. We were at home,” he claimed. When asked if he still feels at home in Algeria, Ménard replied, “No, of course not,” while questioning why Algerian authorities have not granted him a visa. He expressed a desire to show his daughter the country where he was born and to explain his sense of regret, remarking that the sea always seemed warmer in Algeria than on the other side of the Mediterranean.
The statements from Ménard, who frequently criticizes Algeria and rejects Algerian immigration, sparked numerous reactions. Sabrina Sebaihi responded on social media, criticizing his nostalgic portrayal of the colonial era. She challenged his claim of being “at home,” stating that he appeared offended at being unable to make a “colonial pilgrimage.”
Historian Fabrice Riceputi also addressed the co-founder of Reporters Without Borders. He argued that settlers were not “at home” but, since 1830, were in “their” home (referring to the Algerian people). The historian, a specialist in French colonization in Algeria, noted that some pieds-noirs associated with the OAS and the far-right still refuse to recognize that they were collateral victims of a deeply unjust colonial system.
Robert Ménard is not the only French politician of pied-noir descent to publicly express nostalgia for French Algeria. In 2022 and 2024, National Rally MP José Gonzalez used his position as the oldest member of the National Assembly to speak of Algeria as his country. He described it as his “native land” from which he was “torn by the winds of history,” defining himself as a man whose soul remains forever wounded. Like Ménard, Gonzalez was born in Oran, in 1943.
DzWatch.
