Algeria, the country of North Africa expelled 12 agents from the French Embassy.
This decision comes only a few hours after this North African country expressed on Saturday April 13, 2025 “his strong protest” after the placement in France in France of one of his consular agents, suspected of involvement in the kidnapping at the end of April 2024 on the French soil of the Algerian influencer Amir Boukhors.
“This new unacceptable and unspeakable development will cause great damage to Algerian-French relations”said the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement, promising not to “Leave this situation without consequences”.
Three men, of which we do not work in one of the consulates of Algeria in France, were indicted on Friday in Paris, suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of Amir Boukhors, said «Amir dz», an opponent of the Algerian power in place.
They are prosecuted for arrest, kidnapping, sequestration or arbitrary detention followed by liberation before the 7th day, in connection with a terrorist company, said the National Anti -terrorist prosecutor’s office (PNAT) on Saturday.
Amir Boukhors is an Algerian influencer installed in France since 2016, whose return Algeria was demanding the return to judge him. He obtained political asylum in 2023.
The Algerian ministry said it had received the French ambassador to “express the lively protest” from Algiers.
On “the form”, Algeria recalled that “the consular agent was arrested in the middle of a public road and then placed in police custody without notification by the diplomatic channel”.
On “The background”Algiers denounces “The green and wacky argument” of the French Ministry of the Interior, believing that this “Inadmissible judicial cabal” repose “On the mere fact that the mobile phone of the accused consular agent would have limited around the address of the home of the energetic” Amir Boukhors.
“This judicial turning point, unprecedented in the Annals of Algerian-French relations, is not the result of chance”, assured the ministry.
It occurs “For torpedoing the process of recovering bilateral relations agreed between the two heads of state (French and Algerian, editor’s note) during their recent telephone interview”he said, demanding the agent’s “immediate” release.
Smart tensions have affected relations between Algeria and France for eight months, since Emmanuel Macron decided at the end of July to support a plan of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for Western Sahara, where the separatists of the Polisario are supported by Algiers.
They have further aggravated, especially with the arrest of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal.
These tensions have nevertheless been a little appeased in recent days, notably thanks to an appeal on March 31 between Emmanuel Macron and the Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune having acted with the resumption of bilateral dialogue.
With AFP
