Jalloul Salama: The cost of colonial plunder in Algeria is no less than $275 billion – New Algeria

The expert pointed out that the calculations relied on compiling documented historical data issued by French colonial interests, similar to General Statistics (SGA) and French Economic Reports (TEF), while subjecting them to inflationary adjustments to reach their current values.

Regarding the plundering of the Algerian state treasury, Salama confirmed that the data indicate the seizure of the equivalent of 7 tons of gold and 108 tons of silver, with an estimated value of approximately 1.135 billion US dollars at today’s prices, which reflects the extent of the direct depletion of the Algerian state’s wealth at the beginning of the occupation.

As for the agricultural field, according to the expert, the plunder included the confiscation of between 2.7 and 3 million hectares of the most fertile lands, especially in the Mitidja Plain and the Habra region, and exploiting them to produce crops mainly intended for export to France, such as wheat, vines, and olives. The cumulative value of this agricultural plunder, over 132 years of colonialism, was estimated at between 150 and 200 billion dollars in current value.

In the livestock sector, Salama revealed the confiscation of millions of heads of livestock, on an area estimated at about 500,000 hectares, which led to economic losses ranging between 20 and 30 billion dollars, after taking into account the value of the looted meat and dairy products.

Economist Jalloul Salama concluded that this estimate represents the realistic minimum cost of colonial plunder, stressing that including human losses, environmental degradation, and long-term damage to the social and economic structure of Algeria would raise this cost to much higher levels.

Fahima. for