Algerian journalist provokes: France to return Eiffel Tower to Algeria

Returning the Eiffel Tower... toAlgeria. This is the provocation that an Algerian journalist, Mohamed Allal, invited to a broadcast of Algerian broadcaster Lina TV. The episode was aired last Jan. 28 but the news has only spread in the last few hours because it was relaunched three days ago by the popular French publication Causeur, a monthly magazine that claims to be right-wing.

Allal’s thesis consists in the fact that the Eiffel Tower is built of iron from Algeria: according to some, in fact, the ore that allowed the construction of the most famous monument in Paris would come from the Zaccar and Rouïna mines, which are located in Algeria, although in reality their provenance is fully French (the iron actually comes from the mines of Lorraine). But beyond the boutade, since it is not possible to demand the return of a work of art on the basis of the material from which it was made (although, Causeur reports, many Algerians took the provocation seriously), the issue is very complicated and has its roots in French colonialism. In fact, Allal supports the thesis that France stole from Algeria “its riches and treasures” during the colonial period: and relations between France and former colonies are a hot topic both in France, where so many immigrants from African countries once subjected to France live, as well as in the countries themselves that were the targets of French aims.

To give an idea, Causeur reports statements by an Islamic preacher, Cheikh Chems-Eddine, who took up Allal’s provocation to point out that France would never apologize for its crimes in the colonies. In fact, it has to be said that France is not insensitive to the topic: back in 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned France’s colonial past in Algeria (incurring criticism, moreover, from the conservative right), saying in an interview with the newspaper Le Figaro that France had been guilty of “crimes and barbaric acts” that would now be recognized as “crimes against humanity.” Moreover, the country has been making several efforts lately, in different fields: from politics (only last week, again Macron acknowledged France’s responsibility in the murder of Algerian lawyer Ali Boumendjel in 1957) to culture (the famous Sarr-Savoy report on the restitutions of African cultural heritage that has been making the whole world discuss for two years).

Of course, there will never be a “restitution” of the Eiffel Tower to Algeria, but the provocation still ignites tempers.

Algerian journalist provokes: France to return Eiffel Tower to Algeria

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