President François Hollande travels to Algeria on Wednesday to try to heal wounds left by a bloody war of independence half a century ago and to seek greater access to the former colony's oil wealth in an attempt to lift France's own flagging economy, reports The Chicago Tribune.
The trauma of the 1954-1962 Algerian war, in which hundreds of thousands were killed, left deep scars in both countries which continue to hamper a partnership that Paris believes could help revive the Mediterranean basin.
With France's own economy spluttering, it is launching a diplomatic drive it hopes will not only strengthen trade ties but improve security cooperation, as it pushes for intervention against Islamists who have seized control of northern Mali.
Hollande will bring senior executives from some of France's top firms including oil major Total, which is vying to sign a $5-billion-deal to build an ethane steam-cracking plant. Renault will also discuss plans to build a factory to produce some 75,000 cars a year.
"The irony in all this is that Algeria will be helping France come out of its recession," said Rachid Tiemcani, a political science professor at the University of Algiers.
With 12 billion barrels of oil reserves, Algeria is the world's largest Francophone nation, yet annual trade with its one-time colonial master is just 10 billion euros. As Algiers diversifies its economy, China, Spain and Italy have eroded France's market share, despite 132 years of colonial history.
Read more of this report from The Chicago Tribune.