140,000 French visas granted to Algerians annually

France grants 140,000 short-stay visas to Algerians per year. Rejected visa applications are estimated at 29 percent of the total number of applications, French ambassador to Algiers Xavier Driencourt said on Monday.

• In most of time, visa applications are rejected because applicants do not present his resources to cover his expenses during his stay and a determined stay place. Applicants can appeal and can have recourse to justice, Xavier Driencourt told reporters.
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• He added that a French official had been in Algiers, two days ago, to examine possible modification to the 1986 accord about the Algerian community in France. “The accord needs a necessary revision because data and conditions have changed.”
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• Asked about the number of Algerian visas granted to French nationals, the ambassador said the Algerian foreign authorities do not disclose real figures. “The number is very few because most of the French people who visit Algeria have two nationalities.”
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• He also said consulate will continue putting rejected mark on Algerian passports in accordance to a European instruction.
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• He believes that it is necessary to put debate about secularism in France in its natural context. “The number of clergymen in France went down to 18,000 at present compared to 100,000 in the beginning of the century.”
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• France is keeping up closely with current developments in Algeria concerning political and economic reforms