Communication Between Algeria, France Returns After A Year Of Estrangement

The bridges of communication between Algeria and Paris returned after months of estrangement, but following the remarkable developments, they were marked by measures which were taken against some French investors in Algeria, a precedent that the country has not undertaken during the past two decades.

On Thursday, Algeria held discussions at the level of the general secretaries of the two countries’ foreign ministries, under the joint presidency of Chakib Rachid Kaid, Secretary-General of the Algerian Foreign Ministry, and François Delattre, Secretary-General of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

This meeting falls, according to a statement of the Algerian Foreign Ministry, within the framework of regular consultations between Algeria and France, which allowed “a study of the overall relations and cooperation that are existing between the two countries, and exploiting the means that would strengthen them, according to the programmed political agenda for the first six of this year”.

These consultations constituted an opportunity “to assess the preparations for the works of the sixth session of the French-Algerian Mixed Commission for Economic Cooperation, that will be held in Algeria on March 12, and exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern, especially the Libyan file, the issue of Western Sahara, the situation in the Sahel and Mali, and other cross-cutting issues that are related to combating terrorism and climate change”.

The Algerian-French talks coincided with an iron fist between the Ministry of Commerce and one of the French investors, active in the field of milk and its derivatives “Danone”, which ordered the closure of the factory in Blida and referred the file to justice, for reasons that are related to violating the consumers’ rights, because its used expired raw materials, according to a statement that was issued by the ministry, and these accusations were denied by the factory that is owned by the French group.

Before that, the Energy Ministry had reservations about the concession of the American oil company “Anadarko” on its assets to the French giant “Total” in Algeria and decided to activate the right of pre-emption, which gives the Algerian party the condition of approval of any deal on its territory.

This meeting comes after a state of stalemate that spanned for about a year, and this was manifested by the exchanges that took place between the two parties, and this stalemate reached the delay of the French side in congratulating President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on his victory in the recent presidential elections, which added to the suspicion.

Unusually, no Algerian officials visited Paris for more than a year, while the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, visited Algeria once in a year, at a time when Algeria had become a pilgrimage to many of the major visitors, including presidents and other foreign officials.

Observers believe that the procedures that affected some French companies which are operating in Algeria were not possible to occur during the past two decades due to the favorability enjoyed by these companies, which were obtaining deals with political decisions and were protected by senior decisions, including the company “Alstom”, which got deals that brought it back to life after it was included in the list of the bankrupt French companies.