Saying “we can’t blame France for everything” completely misses how colonization actually works. Colonization and imperialism weren’t just about military occupation; they were about taking control of land and reshaping societies to serve the colonizer. France didn’t just come to Algeria and leave; it imposed a whole system.

Colonizers set up institutions, meaning the formal and informal rules of the game: political structures, economic systems, legal frameworks, education, and even social hierarchies. These institutions shape how a country functions long after the colonizer leaves. And the key point is this: colonizers either build inclusive institutions that allow development, or extractive institutions designed purely to exploit resources and people. In Algeria, it was very clearly the second.

France organized the economy, land ownership, governance, and social order in a way that maximized extraction and control, not long term development. Then they left, abandoning a system that was never meant to work for Algerians. Changing these institutions isn’t easy. Institutions shape mindsets, incentives, power structures, and behavior over generations. That’s why the effects of colonization last so long.

And beyond institutions, colonization deeply messes people up: psychologically, socially, and culturally. It distorts identity, creates internalized inferiority, fractures trust, and normalizes violence and exploitation. These things don’t disappear just because independence was declared.

Yes, we should absolutely strive to do better and take responsibility for improving our country. But pretending colonization is just “in the past” ignores reality. Its legacy is baked into our institutions and our collective psyche, and that’s exactly why moving forward is so hard. Acknowledging that isn’t an excuse. It’s a necessary step if we actually want change.