True, but Algeria sucked in comparison to the U.S.
It was a lot closer to home and had the same government and language. The evidence of where French actually emigrated to between 1830 and WWI would indicate they preferred Algeria.
The French in Algeria didn't recognize that as late as the 1950s, much less shortly after it was conquered.
One key difference is that French emigrants to Algeria were generally middle class or better, while it was the poor of the rest of Europe who came to the US. So it doesn't really solve the problem.
Also, the French thought they could demographically overwhelm the Algerians a la Northern Ireland, which they probably would have managed with a few more decades of control.
