France Cannot Ignore Algeria In Solving Problems Raised

Former French Prime Minister Dominique De Villepin has responded to the repeated attacks launched by several far-right figures, notably former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the new Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, and the former ambassador to Algeria, Xavier Driencourt, who publicly blamed Algeria for the phenomenon of illegal immigration, as Sarkozy said.
In an interview with the French channel “France Info” on Monday morning, October 7, Dominique de Villepin considered the criticism of Algeria by French right-wing figures to be unfounded. De Villepin said that the accusations against Algeria “go far beyond any truth” and stressed that “France cannot ignore Algeria in its search for solutions to all the problems raised”.
Over the past few months, Algeria has become a target for right-wing and far-right extremists, who use right-wing media platforms in a scene that seems to be tightly woven to target Algeria and undermine its interests in France and the Maghreb region.
This was clearly demonstrated by the message sent by French President Emmanuel Macron to Moroccan King Mohammed VI at the end of July, which supported the Moroccan regime’s thesis in the occupied Western Sahara.
De Villepin added: “Unfortunately, for many months, if not years, we have seen relations with this friendly and big brotherly country, Algeria, deteriorate day by day. From one deterioration to another, we arrive at accusations that contradict reality and go beyond the truth.” Perhaps De Villepin was referring to the issue of immigration, which the far right and its prominent figures have turned into a “Trojan horse” to attack Algeria.
The former French prime minister under the late President Jacques Chirac went so far as to describe what happened in Algeria during the French colonial era as “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity,” a description rejected by the French right.
On the question of memory, de Villepin said: “If we look back, and this work has been done by many historians, there are war crimes or even crimes against humanity, that is one thing.” He refused to blame Algeria for France’s internal problems: “There is a tendency in France to make Algeria the direct cause of our problems.” He added: “Algeria cannot bear this and we must find answers and solutions with the Algerians”.
From the former French prime minister’s words, it is clear that Macron’s decision on the Sahara issue was neither wise nor diplomatic: “The President of the Republic (Macron) wanted to re-establish relations with Morocco by accepting the (alleged) Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara. We should have done all this within the framework of the United Nations and in coordination with Algeria. Today, we cannot push for a diplomatic solution to any issue without doing so with everyone.
The former French official also rejects the use of the 1968 Agreement on the Movement of Persons to settle scores with Algeria, which the far right has used as a pretext to worsen bilateral relations. He said: “The desire to brandish the 1968 agreement today, which we know is one of the results of the Evian Accords, is a desire to start a war with Algeria? A war of memory?”
De Villepin expressed surprise at the resort to such practices: “It’s all ridiculous, there are other ways.” He suggested that Macron resolve the existing differences with Algeria through dialogue, including the issue of those who have received expulsion orders from French territory and are awaiting deportation.