A War Of Nerves Within The French State Obstructs The Realization Of Understandings

The efforts of the French authorities to settle some of the outstanding and urgent problems with Algeria are facing resistance from parties known for their hostility toward the former colony, which manifested through leaks and counter-leaks that dominated the media scene in France this week.

Immediately after Le Monde newspaper leaked the news of the sudden change in the French prosecution’s position regarding the case of the Algerian consular employee who has been in prison in France since April 12, 2025, outside of diplomatic and consular norms, the public Agence France-Presse (AFP) released a provocative statement from the lawyer of an individual wanted by Algerian justice residing on French soil, warning of the possibility of a swap between the Algerian consular employee and French journalist Christophe Gleizes, who is serving a 7-year prison sentence in a case related to supporting and praising terrorism.

The general idea of the Le Monde article pointed to the possibility of a breakthrough in the case of the Algerian consular employee, considering it an indicator of the potential for the two parties to reach a solution ending the imprisonment of the two citizens and their return to their respective countries within the context of understandings believed to have occurred behind closed doors. Not long after this leak (on the afternoon of the same day), Agence France-Presse circulated a dispatch that could be said to trend in the opposite direction (blocking the path for the indications of the unannounced deal, if it exists).

This French-French debate revealed an approach suggesting that there are those who want to end the suffering of the Algerian and French citizens, and it is likely that the government led by Sebastien Lecornu, and behind it French President Emmanuel Macron, are behind this direction, while it was confronted by another invisible but known party, which is the deep state, usually entrenched in the media scene and in the tools of public opinion making and guidance.

The French-French debate did not stop on the first day but extended to the second day. What is striking is the return of one of the most prominent faces known in the defense committee for the French writer of Algerian origin, Boualem Sansal, when he was serving a prison sentence, namely Arnaud Benedetti, in an article in Le Journal du Dimanche, criticizing the Macron administration and accusing it of mismanaging the Christophe Gleizes file.

Arnaud Benedetti was known for his frequent media appearances when Boualem Sansal was serving his sentence in Algeria, yet since he was pardoned through the mediation of the German President, he remained silent, nor had he previously taken it upon himself to defend Christophe Gleizes.

However, he rushed to stick his nose into this case immediately after signs of understandings appeared on the horizon between Algeria and Paris regarding the French citizen and the Algerian consular employee.

In an article titled “France’s Impotence in the Face of Christophe Gleizes’  Detention,” Arnaud Benedetti, known for his right-wing leanings, spoke about Paris’s failure to secure his release, which “makes it appear weak,” in an attempt to mislead French public opinion into thinking that any swap in the two cases (the Algerian consular employee versus the French journalist) would be considered a submission by Paris toward Algeria, despite his awareness that Algeria will not tolerate the imprisonment of its consular employee.

Despite his awareness of the concerns of the journalist’s family, who confirmed their refusal on more than one occasion to have his case politicized by circles hostile to Algeria, Arnaud Benedetti, who represents the face of the political and media elites that have poured and continue to pour oil on the fire of inflamed bilateral relations, worked to exploit this file to prevent reaching a happy ending to the suffering of the two imprisoned citizens.

With great audacity, he advocated for the release of the French journalist without the consular employee, which is a dream for some French political and media elites that will never come true.