The Elysee announced the expulsion of 12 Algerian diplomatic staff in response to Algerian similar act
The French presidency announced on Tuesday the expulsion of 12 employees of the Algerian consular and diplomatic network in France, and the recall of the French ambassador to Algeria, Stéphane Romatet, for consultations.
This comes in response to Algeria’s expulsion of 12 French employees working at the French embassy there.
In a statement, the Élysée Palace considered, “the Algerian authorities bear responsibility for the significant deterioration in bilateral relations,” expressing its dismay over this.
For his part, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot accused the Algerian authorities in a post on X of “choosing escalation,” adding, “We’re responding as previously announced”.
The French foreign minister, who visited Algeria earlier this month, stressed the importance of dialogue, always, but not in one direction.
Last Sunday, Algerian authorities announced the expulsion of 12 French Interior Ministry employees, giving them 48 hours to leave the country in response to the arrest of an Algerian consular employee in France.
Algeria deemed its decision sovereign and held Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau responsible for the renewed diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The French presidency, meanwhile, deemed the expulsion of the French nationals unjustified and incomprehensible.
The renewed Algerian-French diplomatic tensions stem from the French public prosecutor’s office in Paris, which specializes in terrorism cases, charging three Algerians, one of whom is an employee at one of the Algerian consulates in France, with “kidnapping and arbitrary detention in connection with a terrorist plot… They were subsequently arrested.
The case concerns the kidnapping of Algerian influencer and opposition figure Amir Boukhors in late April 2024 on French soil, and Algeria had repeatedly requested Boukhors’ extradition for trial, but France refused.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, confirmed in a phone call at the end of last March that the diplomatic crisis between the two countries had been resolved.
The crisis erupted after France’s decision to support Morocco’s autonomy initiative for Western Sahara.
