France-Algeria Rift Could Strengthen Morocco’s Diplomatic Position

During a chat with readers of the newspaper Le Monde, the French journalist Frédéric Bobin made a keen analysis of the crisis between Algeria and France and warned that the situation could benefit Morocco, which would see its relations strengthened with France. "The risk for the Algerians is that an attitude that is too hostile towards Paris will throw France even more into the arms of Morocco. We will say that it is already very pro-Moroccan, as illustrated by Paris’ position of support for King Mohammed VI’s autonomy plan for the Sahara. But a more frank shift of Paris to the Rabat camp [...] is not necessarily in Algiers’ interest," he develops.

To read: France Slashes Visas for North African Nations Amid Diplomatic Tensions with Algeria

For the French journalist, the remarks of the Algerian president are not likely to appease tensions with France. "President Tebboune said that the return of the Algerian ambassador to Paris was conditional on the "total respect of the Algerian state" by France. This is very complicated. Does this mean that Paris must align itself 100% with the interests of the regime? This is obviously hardly acceptable [...] "Respecting the Algerian state" - does this mean, for example, endorsing its current repressive policy against Hirak sympathizers, extraditing opponents living in France? [...]," he wonders.

To read: Diplomatic Rift Between Morocco and Algeria Threatens Stability in North Africa and Sahel

Frédéric Bobin also analyzes the remarks of French President Emmanuel Macron who, according to him, "calculates the consequences of his words as precisely as possible" with a view to the 2022 election. However, we note in his remarks "an increasingly exasperated exasperation of Paris towards Algiers, an accumulation of disputes on the migration issue (bad will attributed to Algiers for the repatriation of illegal migrants), economic and commercial contracts (setbacks of the RATP and Suez...), regional security (tensions on the post-"Barkhane" in the Sahel) and, of course, the memorial issue," he adds, also noting that "the impact of the crisis on the Sahel is real".