France In Africa: French Presidential Frontrunner Emmanuel Macron Calls Algeria Colonization 'Crime Against Humanity'

Emmanuel Macron, considered to be the frontrunner in the upcoming French presidential election, came under attack from his rivals Wednesday after he termed France's colonization of Algeria a "crime against humanity."

Marcon, who founded the social liberal and progressive party En Marche! (meaning forward/on the move) in 2016, made the comments regarding Algeria during an interview in Algiers this week with Echourouk News.

Macron said colonization was "genuinely barbaric, and constitutes a part of our past that we have to confront by apologizing," while adding "France had installed human rights in Algeria but has simply forgotten to read them." Marcon also said he hopes to promote "reconciliation of memories" between the two countries while making a stop at the Martyrs' Memorial in Algiers, according to Agence France-Presse.

Following his comments, his rivals on the right, including Les Republicans presidential candidate Francois Fillon and members of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front party, rushed to attack him.

Fillon said: "This hatred of our history, this perpetual repentance that is unworthy of a candidate for the presidency of the republic."

Wallerand de Saint-Just from National Front accused Macron of "shooting France in the back," while Gerald Darmanin, an ally of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, also denounced Marcon’s statements in a tweet.

"Shame on Emmanuel Macron for insulting France while abroad," he said.

Algerian independence, achieved in 1962 after eight years of war, is still an emotional topic for the French. An opinion poll conducted in 2016 found 52 percent of people in France believe the government should officially apologize for “the killings and atrocities committed by the French army during the occupation of Algeria,” according to the MiddleEast Monitor.

It also occupies an important place in French arts, history, and culture. Cinematically, its most well-known portrayal has been in the 1966 film "The Battle of the Algiers" and in literature, several French philosophers, including Nobel prize winners such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, addressed the question of Algerian independence through their work. Another stirring critique and discussion on the dehumanizing effects of colonization upon the individual and the nation were hit upon by Frantz Fanon through his book “The Wretched of the Earth.”

Although it is unknown if the comments on Algeria would affect Marcon’s election odds, he is still the favorite in the polls according to multiple estimates, such as magazine Le Point and Ipsos. The 2017 French presidential election is due to be decided in a first-round election in April and a run-off between the two top candidates in May.