France offers 350,000 visas to Algerians

French authorities offered 350,000 visas to Algerians while a “big surprise” will be revealed in the next few months, said chairman of Algerian-French parliamentary friendship committee Patrick Mennucci.

“Paris trusts the Algerian diplomacy concerning the Libyan issue. It was successful in dealing with the Malian crisis,” Mennucci told a press conference on Sunday in Algiers.

“We trust the Algerian diplomacy. This comes as Paris tried to convince Algiers to be part of the war in Libya to restore security and stability. This was on the visit of the French army’s chief of staff Pierre de Villiers to Algeria,” he added.

Speaking about Sahrawi refugees’ camps, he said he noticed many violations of human rights. Paris cares for its relations with Morocco in terms of the Western Sahara issue because it is an important partner. “Algeria is also a strategic partner for France.”

“Algerian or North African born French people including Muslims are not different from France’s citizens. A total of 930 French joined ISIS. Thirty percent of them have Italian and Spanish origins,” he added.

He also said France had to establish a new project to face terror threat. “Two girls were arrested on their way to Syria for jihad. The same happened to a 14-year-old girl living in Strasbourg. She was recruited by ISIS.”

Asked about visa-related problems, Mennucci said there are attempts to solve them. “Economic relations are the best channel to improve relations between the two countries.”