The opening speech on the opening day of the new French parliament wasn’t quite what was expected — an emotional paean to when Algeria was a French colony

According to the rules of the National Assembly, the oldest lawmaker chairs the first session of a new parliament — that was José Gonzalez, 79 years old and a newly elected MP from the far-right National Rally

“To see you gathered side by side … beyond all our differences, is a symbol of French unity. This symbol of unity touches the child of a remote France that I am, torn from his native land and blown to the coasts of Provence by the winds of history in 1962. I left there a part of my France and many friends. I am a man who has seen his soul forever bruised,” he said before becoming overcome with emotion. He was given a round of applause by some other MPs

Gonzalez was born and raised in Oran, when Algeria was still a French colony[…]
After his speech, according to Libération, Gonzalez told journalists to “come with me to Algeria in the Djebel region, I will find many Algerians who will tell you: When are you [the French] coming back?” He added that “I’m not here to judge whether the OAS committed crimes or not”

The OAS (Organisation armée secrète) was a far-right paramilitary organization that carried out attacks, bombings and assassinations during the Algerian War. Their stated goal was to keep Algeria under French colonial rule. Some former members of the OAS joined the National Front[…]
The controversy risks complicating National Rally leader Marine Le Pen’s efforts to bring her far-right party into the mainstream. Le Pen has reportedly been coaching her 89 new MPs on how to behave well