Algiers, Algeria – Algeria on Monday defended its “sovereign” decision to expel 12 French officials and blamed French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau for the resurgence of tension between the two countries.
In a statement, Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the 12 were declared persona non grata after the arrest in France of an Algerian consular official.
It described the arrest as a “vile act” and “the consequence of the negative, distressing and constant attitude of the French minister of the interior toward Algeria,” its former colony.
The 12 French officials were given 48 hours to leave the North African country, according to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Algeria said their expulsion came after “the spectacular and ostentatious arrest” of its consular agent in France.
It blamed French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau for hindering recent efforts to repair already tense diplomatic ties between Algiers and Paris.
Retailleau “bears full responsibility for the turn taken by relations between Algeria and France at a time when they had just begun a phase of easing”, the Algerian Foreign Ministry said.
It warned that “any further offensive action by the French Interior Minister will receive, on the basis of reciprocity, a firm and adequate response”.
Algeria had expressed on Saturday its “strong protest” after French prosecutors indicted one of its consular officials on suspicion of involvement in the April 2024 abduction in a Paris suburb of Algerian influencer Amir Boukhors.
Boukhors, known as “Amir DZ”, is an opponent of the Algerian government and has more than a million followers on TikTok.
The latest developments came as the two countries attempted to mend fences after months of frayed relations.
Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot visited Algeria after months of tensions that had brought the two countries to the brink of a diplomatic breakdown.
After a meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during the visit, Barrot said both countries wanted to “rebuild a partnership of equals”.
Relations between Paris and Algiers came under strain last year when France recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria has long backed the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Ties soured further when Algeria arrested the French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in November on national security charges, after he told a French far-right media outlet that Morocco’s territory was truncated in favour of Algeria during French colonial rule.
© Agence France-Presse
