First meeting between Algerian and French companies after months of estrangement

In a remarkable development, about 20 French companies participated in “Industry Days” in Algeria on Tuesday, June 17. This development comes amidst an unprecedented political and diplomatic crisis between the two countries that has lasted for nearly a year, caused by France’s biased stance in favor of the Moroccan regime regarding the Sahrawi issue.

For the first time in about six months, Algerian and French companies met on Algerian soil. This opportunity was provided by the Algerian-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, whose objectives include attracting companies interested in investing in Algeria and enabling them to discover and seize investment opportunities.

Until last April, a complete estrangement existed between the two countries, not only on the political and diplomatic levels but also extending to the economic dimension. The President of the Algerian Economic Renewal Council, Mr. Kamel Moula, canceled a scheduled visit to Paris at the invitation of his French counterpart, the President of the French Business Movement (MEDEF), Mr. Patrick Martin.

This was in response to the cancellation of a French company president’s scheduled visit to Algeria, directed by political authorities in his country, while bilateral relations were experiencing a state of near-total estrangement.

In addition to the participation of French companies in the “Industry Days” exhibition in Algeria, Algerian public companies also attended the event, which suggests the possibility of economic normalization between the two countries.

The early signs of this normalization appeared after France lifted its “political veto” on the visit of Mr. Rodolphe Saadé, the CEO of the French shipping company CMA CGM, to Algeria, where he was a guest at the beginning of this month, after the first scheduled date for the same visit in April was canceled.

During this visit, he met with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and they reached agreements on the French investor’s intention to contribute to the rehabilitation of the country’s ports and maritime transport sector.

Earlier, the French newspaper “Le Figaro” revealed in an investigation what it described as the great concern among French businessmen in Algeria. It quoted one of them as saying that he used to sell equipment to clients investing in expensive industrial projects that sometimes extended for three years, but they now feel a significant impact of the political situation on their orders, as Algerian public companies are turning to Spanish or Italian suppliers and avoiding communication with French companies.

The difficulties faced by French companies in dealing with Algeria extended to those active in grain export. French grain purchases have dropped to zero since the beginning of this year, following the decision by the Algerian Professional Office of Grains to exclude France from the latest public tender for the purchase of 500,000 tons of wheat. This is the second time in less than a year that French wheat has been excluded from Algeria, after having dominated for decades.

Based on French customs statistics related to trade exchanges between France and Algeria, the first three months of the current year witnessed a decrease in exports ranging between 18% and 25% compared to the same period in 2024, with their value falling below the one billion euro mark, at 992 million euros compared to 1.25 billion euros in the first quarter of 2024.

The French are trying to build bridges with Algeria through the economic side, given the paralysis that characterizes bilateral relations in their political and diplomatic dimensions.

However, the past of French companies remains dishonorable in Algeria, due to their tendency towards profitable sectors without investing in wealth-generating and job-creating sectors. The investment of the French automotive giant “Renault” serves as a blatant example of this selfishness, as it invested only a few million euros in its factory in Oran, compared to 2 billion euros in its factory in Morocco. This gives a bad image of French investments in Algeria that will continue to haunt them until they change their strategy.