Tensions rise again between France and Algeria… France arrest three Algerian diplomats and Algeria orders 12 French employees to leave the country within 48 hours
Algerian authorities have asked 12 French embassy employees to leave the country within 48 hours, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced on Monday, explaining that the decision was in response to the arrest of three Algerians in France.
“I ask the Algerian authorities to reverse these expulsion measures, which are unrelated to the ongoing judicial proceedings” in France, Barrot said in a written statement to reporters.
He added, “If the decision to dismiss our employees is upheld, we will have no choice but to respond immediately”.
A diplomatic source told AFP that among the people Algeria intends to expel are employees of the Ministry of Interior.
Three men, one of whom is an employee of an Algerian consulate in France, have been charged in Paris with arrest, kidnapping, and arbitrary detention in connection with a terrorist plot, according to the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office.
The three men were indicted on Friday on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of Algerian influencer and opposition figure Amir Boukhors in late April 2024 on French soil.
Amir Boukhors, nicknamed “Amir DZ,” is a 41-year-old Algerian influencer who has lived in France since 2016, which Algeria has requested his extradition to face trial.
Algeria issued nine international arrest warrants against him, accusing him of fraud and terrorist offenses.
In 2022, French courts refused to extradite him, and he was granted political asylum in 2023.
The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a statement on Saturday evening that “this new, unacceptable, and unjustified development is likely to harm Algerian-French relations,” stressing its determination “not to leave this issue without consequences”.
This contradicts the French Foreign Minister’s announcement last week of a new phase in relations between Paris and Algeria, following a meeting with his counterpart, Ahmed Attaf, and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
