Algeria Is At The Heart Of A French-French Debate

The biased and provocative article signed by the former French ambassador to Algeria, Xavier Driencourt, through the columns of the right-wing newspaper “Le Figaro”, was nothing but an indirect response to another article a day earlier, published in the columns of another French newspaper, “La Tribune”.

The two articles can be read from their headlines. The article, which appeared in the newspaper “La Tribune”, refers the reader directly to a radical shift in Algerian-French relations, and it talks about Algeria’s favor to the French president by saying, “And if Algeria saved Emmanuel Macron.”

As for the article signed by the former French ambassador in “Le Figaro”, it is prejudiced and immoral, but it is not based on sound foundations. “Algeria is collapsing… Will it drag France with it?” Through the two titles, it is clear that the two articles are going in opposite directions.

The difference between what was stated in the two newspapers is that the “La Tribune” article was prepared by a journalist, Mark Edfield, while the “Le Figaro” article was not signed by a journalist but by a retired diplomat, in the form of a contribution, so that the newspaper would not bear his responsibility.

Returning to the details of the two articles, it can be said that what the French diplomat wrote in the right-wing newspaper came in response to the article in the newspaper “La Tribune”, which spoke of an Algerian-French rapprochement dictated by the common interest of the two countries.

“Le Figaro” article also aims to strike at the credibility of the echo achieved by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s interview, to the same newspaper on December 30, through which he spoke in calm language about the importance of friendship between the two countries and work for the two parties to benefit from each other, each according to its capabilities.

There is no doubt that President Tebboune’s assertion  to “Le Figaro” in his recent interview with the French newspaper, which left an interaction with his French counterpart eager to rearrange the house of bilateral relations, in which he said: “France must liberate itself from the colonizer’s complex and Algeria liberates itself from the colonizer’s complex”.

Therefore, Xavier Driencourt’s article came to try to assume the role of a defender of the propositions of the extreme right, trying to put the stick in the wheel of the Algerian-French rapprochement, based on the words of President Tebboune, who talked about cooperation in what was agreed upon and left the disagreement about it.

It seems that exhausted circles within the deep state in France have sensed a real desire from the officials of the two countries to overcome the pitfalls of the past shackled by the remnants and crimes of the hateful occupation, and to go towards building a future free from the burdens of memory that often caused the wasting of opportunities for the two countries.

However, any wrong or superficial treatment of the memory file would paint a fragile reality that quickly collapses at the first shock, which is what the extreme right is trying to focus on, by pressuring the French president to adopt a position that refuses to face the truth in all its manifestations, and avoids making any concessions.

In the issue of the colonial past, he is certain that this file is considered crucial in Algeria, and thus  making efforts to normalize bilateral relations before the dangers of collapse at any moment.