A week after the trip of the French diplomacy chief to Algiers, the reconciliation between France and Algeria is already put to the test. This Monday, Algiers asked 12 agents from the French Embassy to leave Algerian territory.
“This decision”, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, “would be a response to the arrest of three Algerian nationals suspected of serious facts on French national territory”. These men are suspected of being involved in the kidnapping at the end of April 2024 of an opponent of the Algerian regime, the influencer Amir Boukhors.
Paris threatens “immediate” reprisals
“I ask the Algerian authorities to renounce these expulsion measures unrelated to the ongoing legal proceedings,” said Jean-Noël Barrot in a written declaration sent to journalists.
The Quai d’Orsay says it is ready for immediate reprisals in the event that the Algerian state expelled its agents. “If the decision to send back our agents was maintained, we will have no choice but to answer them immediately,” said the minister.
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