- In a letter addressed to his Prime Minister on Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron advocated “more firmness” with regard to Algeria, faced with the diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
- France “makes all the wrongs bring to the Algerian part”, replies the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- He also announced the breakdown of an agreement on an exemption from visas for holders of diplomatic passports, which France has announced to suspend.
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After warming, the tone goes up a notch between Paris and Algiers
The fever of fever has resumed more beautiful between the two capitals. Algeria accused France of exonerating on Thursday “of his responsibilities”
In the current bilateral crisis, in an official press release. He also claimed that the agreement on the exemption from visas for the benefit of diplomatic passports and service holders, of which Paris announced the suspension the day before, was now broken.
In a letter addressed to his Prime Minister François Bayrou, Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, advocated
“More firmness”
With regard to Algeria (new window)by denouncing his inflexibility on the migration issue and the detention of two French nationals, which Paris arbitrary judge. This letter “Exonces France from all of its responsibilities and makes all wrongs bring to the Algerian part. Nothing is further from truth and reality”
replied this Algerian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
The heavy load of Algiers against Paris
In his letter, Emmanuel Macron notably asked the government to suspend an agreement dating from 2013 exempting from short -term visas (new window) Diplomatic or service passport holders. For Algiers, “It is France alone, which was at the origin of such a request”
. “By deciding the suspension of this agreement, France offers Algeria the opportunity to announce the outright denunciation of this same agreement”
In other words the end of this agreement, added Algerian diplomacy.
The decision of Emmanuel Macron was already acting a factual situation: the Minister of French Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, announced on May 14 “The dismissal to Algeria of all agents holding diplomatic passports who would not currently have a visa”
. France then reacted to a decision “Unjustified and unjustifiable”
From Algiers to expel French officials, he said.
Read
Detention of Boualem Sansal: “The hard method will not work” with Algeria, believes Dominique de Villepin sur LCI
Relations between Paris and Algiers have been going through an unprecedented crisis after France for France since the summer of 2024 of an autonomy plan
“under Moroccan sovereignty”
For Western Sahara (new window)territory that Morocco has been competed for 50 years and the Polisario separatists, supported by Algiers. From the breakup of the blurred due, according to Algiers, to the reversal of Paris on Western Sahara, France has “Order, ultimatums and summons”
in a “Management in terms of forces”
said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its press release.
France is not in “the spirit of a perpetual confrontation”
In his letter, Emmanuel Macron also asked his government to use the lever “Visa-readmission”
which makes it possible to suspend the issuance of long stay visas to citizens of a country whose authorities cooperate “Insufficiently”
To readmit their nationals in an irregular situation. A measure that Algiers described as “violation flagrante”
bilateral agreements in force.
Emmanuel Macron notably motivated the Tour de Vis towards Algiers by the situation of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal (new window)sentenced to five years in prison, notably for “Affairs in national unity”
and French journalist Christophe Gleizes (new window)sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria to “Apology of terrorism”
. The French president nevertheless assured that his “Objective remains to find
effective and ambitious relationships
(new window) with Algeria “
. Thursday, François Bayrou said that his government was going “apply”
the measures requested by Emmanuel Macron, but “Not in the minds of a perpetual confrontation but in the mind to one day find relationships that are balanced and just”
.
The crisis between the two capitals has already resulted until then by expulsion of civil servants on both sides, the recall of the ambassadors of the two countries, and a frost of all official cooperation. But also the cessation of the cooperation of Algerian consulates in France, with the services of the French State, in matters of readmission of Algerians deemed dangerous.
