Algeria Orders 12 French Diplomats Out Amid Tensions

Post by: Layla Badr

Photo: AFP

Algeria has told 12 French embassy workers to leave the country within 48 hours. This news was confirmed by France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot.

He said the reason behind this move is related to a recent case in France, where three Algerian citizens were charged by a French court. One of them is a consular official — someone who works for the Algerian government in France.

These three people are accused of being involved in the kidnapping of Amir Boukhors, a well-known critic of the Algerian government. Boukhors, who is also known online as Amir DZ, has a large following on social media. He has lived in France since 2016 and was granted political asylum in 2023.

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Boukhors was kidnapped in April 2024 in a suburb south of Paris. His lawyer, Eric Plouvier, said that he was taken by men pretending to be police officers and was put into a car with flashing lights. He was released the next day without any clear reason.

Plouvier also mentioned that this wasn’t the first time Boukhors had been attacked. He was targeted in 2022 as well as on the night of April 29, 2024.

Algeria has accused Boukhors of fraud and links to terrorist groups. They have even issued nine international arrest warrants against him. But Boukhors denies all the charges, and in 2022, a French court refused to send him back to Algeria.

This case has made the already tense relationship between France and Algeria even worse.

Recently, another issue added to the strain: the arrest and jail sentence of Boualem Sansal, a French-Algerian author, in Algeria. He was accused of harming the country’s unity.

In another incident last year, Algeria called back its ambassador from Paris after France showed support for Morocco in the ongoing conflict over Western Sahara — a territory claimed by both Algeria and Morocco.

According to a diplomatic source, the 12 French staff now being asked to leave Algeria include some officials from France’s interior ministry.

On Monday, Minister Barrot spoke out strongly, asking Algeria to cancel the decision. He said that if Algeria goes ahead with the expulsions, France would respond right away.

Barrot also explained that Algeria’s decision was likely a reaction to the legal charges filed in Paris against the three Algerians last Friday. These charges include kidnapping, unlawful detention, and involvement with a terrorist group.

In response, Algeria’s foreign ministry called in the French ambassador, Stéphane Romatet, to complain. They said that the Algerian official was arrested in public and taken into custody without any formal notice sent through diplomatic channels.

The ministry also said this arrest wasn’t just a coincidence. They believe it happened at a time when both countries were trying to fix their relationship — and that the arrest might have been meant to stop that process.

There have been recent efforts to rebuild ties between the two countries. In March, French President Emmanuel Macron had a long phone call with Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

In April, Jean-Noël Barrot visited Algeria and met with President Tebboune. After that meeting, Barrot said he hoped it would mark a new beginning in the relationship between France and Algeria.

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