France's Macron announces 'new page' in Algeria ties

The French flag flutters on a main square in Algiers ahead of Macron's arrival

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a "new page" in ties with Algeria on Thursday, the first day of a three-day visit aimed at mending ties with the former French colony months after it marked 60 years of independence.

The French president announced Thursday evening that the two countries would set up a joint French-Algerian commission of historians to study archives on France's 130 years of colonial rule in Algeria, including the devastating eight-year independence war.