Algeria-France Judicial Cooperation Falters Amid Diplomatic Tensions
French media circles, including Le Monde, believe that judicial cooperation between Algeria and Paris will only regain its effectiveness once the Algerian side feels that the outstanding issues currently on the table—foremost among them the detention of an Algerian consular officer—are moving towards a settlement.
Algeria has previously disclosed that 61 judicial requests are pending before the French authorities concerning individuals allegedly involved in the embezzlement of public funds and acts undermining the country’s territorial integrity. Paris, however, has failed to respond to these requests as expected. The issue was among the matters discussed during French Justice Minister Gérald Moussa Darmanin’s visit to Algeria last April, followed by a visit by an Algerian judicial delegation to Paris in June.
In this regard, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that judicial cooperation between Algeria and France will remain “stalled as long as the case of the Algerian consular official in Créteil, who has been detained in France since April 2025, remains unresolved.” This represents a notable shift in the way sections of the French media establishment have characterized the roots of the crisis between the two countries. Until now, coverage has tended to frame the judicial dispute primarily around the resolution of French cases, initially that of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, and subsequently that of sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence in a case involving support for and glorification of terrorism.
While French officials have sought to signal that progress is being made on the issue—citing, in particular, posts published by the French justice minister on social media late last week—the Algerian side has traditionally chosen its own timing when addressing such developments, based on its assessment of the situation on the ground. Previous episodes have shown that Algiers remains dissatisfied with the course of events, as was the case several weeks ago when the French judiciary extended the detention of the consular officer, whose arrest was carried out in breach of diplomatic and consular norms, particularly the 1961 Vienna Convention governing diplomatic relations.
There had been considerable optimism following the exchange of ministerial visits between the two countries since the beginning of this year, involving officials responsible for portfolios directly linked to judicial and police cooperation. Yet these contacts have so far failed to produce any tangible results, according to a former senior Algerian Foreign Ministry official who spoke to Echorouk. He attributed the impasse to “a lack of political will on the French side,” which, he argued, continues to be the main obstacle to progress.
According to the former official, French authorities have recognized from the outset that the detention of the Algerian consular official, in circumstances that allegedly contravened established consular and diplomatic norms, has further fueled already strained bilateral relations. Those tensions have intensified since French President Emmanuel Macron decided more than two years ago to side with Morocco’s plan on the Western Sahara issue, thereby ending what had previously been seen as a relatively balanced approach by Paris towards its two former North African colonies.
The former official believes that France could have brought the consular officer’s detention case to an end, even by ordering his release pending trial. Instead, he said, French authorities chose a more difficult course by rejecting defense requests to that effect.
Nevertheless, the retired official stressed that there is still time to resolve the matter. The French judiciary could accelerate the consular officer’s trial and bring the proceedings to a final judgment, he argued, which would in turn make it easier to settle a case that has had a significant impact on the stability of bilateral relations.
