France-Algeria Relations Sour Over Western Sahara Dispute

This cooling of relations follows France’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, a decision that has angered Algiers, the historical supporter of the Polisario Front independence fighters. The imprisonment in Algeria of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal and the arrest in France of several Algerian or dual-national influencers for "the holding of hateful or violent public remarks" have exacerbated the situation.

"The relationship between France and Algeria is not a bilateral relationship like any other, it is a relationship of deep intimacy," recalled Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Foreign Affairs, before the National Assembly. "But for cooperation, there have to be two. And the reasons that led the Algerian authorities to adopt a posture of hostility have nothing to do with Algeria or its interests. France is a sovereign country that chooses the terms of its alliances with other countries. And what France intends to build with Morocco takes nothing away from what France intends to build with Algeria," he added, specifying that he was ready to go to Algeria to discuss this crisis.

Despite the maintenance of diplomatic channels, French officials describe a relationship close to rupture. Algiers is implementing, according to them, a policy aimed at erasing the French economic presence in Algeria and trade has fallen by nearly a third since the summer. According to diplomatic sources cited by Reuters, Algeria has undertaken a concerted effort in recent months to toughen the economic environment for French companies in Algeria, particularly for wheat exporters, ignored in tenders.

The power struggle also concerns the political and cultural sphere. On January 6, Emmanuel Macron considered that Algeria was entering "a history that dishonors it" by detaining "in a completely arbitrary manner" the writer Boualem Sansal, whose state of health has deteriorated in recent weeks. Last Thursday, the return to France by Algiers of an influencer that Paris wanted to expel was widely commented on by the political class, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau estimating that Algeria was seeking to "humiliate" its former colonial power. "It is a violation of the texts governing our relationship and it is a precedent that we consider serious," said Jean-Noël Barrot.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Algerian