Abdelkader Ben Saleh Pricks The French Officials In Paris

In a striking statement, the chair of the Nation’s Council, Abdelkader Ben Saleh, pricks the French officials from their capital, Paris, on the occasion of the visit which came at the invitation of the chair of the French Senate, Gerard Larcher.

Ben Saleh said, in the presence of his French counterpart, that cooperation between Algeria and Paris must go beyond the commercial framework to the productive investment, a statement which hides a lot of explanations in the relationships that seem disproportionate on more than one level.

This issue caused a resentment among Algerian officials in recent years, while observers described this situation as “selfish” and unjustified by the French party, which got a lot from Algeria, but it did not show generosity that was expected by Algerians.

French investments in Algeria are known as being mere commercial services that aimed only to achieve quick profits for a small effort, taking advantage of  the pervasive French influence in the administration to achieve it, while investment in the productive sectors remains outside the French investors’ interest.

Former Energy and Mines Minister, Chakib Khelil, strongly criticized the French investments in Algeria, and said they are only looking for the easy and profitable activities, a statement that increased the confusion because he spent many years at the head of the energy sector, which is considered the most prominent investment spaces in the country.

Perhaps what confirmed this belief, is the preference of French investments of other countries at the expense of Algeria, led by the car industry and other productive activities, and it should be noted here to the issue of “Renault” factory which raised a lot of controversy.

It is known that “Renault” sat on the throne of car sales in Algeria for many years, but when it decided to expand it investment base in overseas, it chose to create its factory in Tangier in northern Morocco, a decision that has left a large anger among the Algerian authorities.

It seems that the French authorities felt embarrassed about the Algerian protests, but its understanding was not at the good level, because the creation of Telilat factory, does not rise to the level of the plant, which was created in Tangier, in spite of the profits that the French giant gains in Algeria.

Unfortunately, the Algerian negotiator lost a bet another bet that is similar to the former one, after the creation of the other car company in Morocco “Peugeot”, to repeat the same scene, leaving Algeria as a “bazaar” for its cars that are manufactured away from it, a decision that would do not seen the light, if the Algerian authorities used the papers that were in its hand to bring to knees this is arrogance.

Betrayal of the French party against the Algerian friendship did not only stop at the economic dimension, but it extended to other dimensions, especially those related to certain issues of mutual interest, like the issue of the Western Sahara, as the French position remained supportive to the Moroccan thesis forward in this matter, despite the rapprochement between the two countries, especially since the arrival of the current President, Francois Hollande, to the Elysée Palace since more than four years.