France's leader Emmanuel Macron has concluded a visit to Algeria aimed at renewing ties with the former French colony, a trip that his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune said had brought a "new, irreversible dynamic of progress" in their nations' ties.

The three-day tour comes less than two months after Algeria marked six decades of independence following 132 years of French rule and a devastating eight-year colonial war.

Macron's trip also comes as Europe is scrambling to replace Russian energy imports - including with supplies from Algeria, Africa's top gas exporter, which in turn is hoping to expand its influence in North Africa and the Sahel.

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In their joint statement on Saturday, the two leaders said "France and Algeria have decided to open a new era ... laying the foundation for a renewed partnership expressed through a concrete and constructive approach, focused on future projects and youth."

Tebboune addressed his guest in French at the signing ceremony, describing an "excellent, successful visit... which allowed for a rapprochement which wouldn't have been possible without the personality of President Macron himself."

Ties between Algeria and its former colonizer have been repeatedly strained over the years.

Tensions have been particularly high since last year when Macron questioned Algeria's existence as a nation before the French occupation and accused the government of fomenting "hatred towards France".

Tebboune withdrew his country's ambassador in response and banned French military aircraft from its airspace. Normal diplomatic relations have since resumed.

After vowing to "build a new pact", Macron also visited the spiritual home of Algerian Rai music, a record shop made famous by French-Algerian singer DJ Snake's recent hit of the same name, "Disco Maghreb".

He also met athletes, artists, and authors and went for a somewhat chaotic walk in the streets where police struggled with onlookers trying to shake his hand or take photos.

Macron also used his visit to announce the creation of a joint commission of historians to investigate France's colonialization of Algeria and its brutal crackdown against the country's resistance movement.

But in France, both left and right-wing politicians were angered by the proposal. 

Socialist party leader Olivier Faure noted that Macron in 2017 had called French colonialism a "crime against humanity", then later questioned the existence of Algeria as a nation prior to the colonial period.

"The lightness with which he deals with the subject is an insult to wounded memories," Faure tweeted.

Far right leader Thomas Menage tweeted that Algeria should stop "using its past to avoid establishing true, friendly diplomatic relations".

Macron's visit was not universally welcomed by Algerians either.

"History can't be written with lies... like the one that Algeria was created by France," read an editorial in the French-language Le Soir newspaper.

"We expected Macron to erase this gross untruth during this visit," it said, criticising him for a "lack of courage... to recognise his own faults and those of his country".