French Government Refutes Claims Regarding Algerian Medical Debt

In a surprising response that came at a time of unprecedented tension between the two countries, the French government slapped down right-wing and far-right politicians who had been promoting the existence of alleged debts amounting to millions of euros that Algeria had not paid to French hospitals for years.
It revealed that the only amount owed by the Algerian state to French hospitals is no more than €2.6 million out of €150 million in bills over 15 years, while those who obtain visas for medical treatment represent only 0.21 percent.

This information was provided in a response from the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs dated May 27, 2025, which was reviewed by “Echorouk”, to a written question submitted by MP Michel Guéno of the far-right National Rally, known for its hostile stance toward Algeria and Algerians. He promoted allegations of huge unpaid debts owed by Algeria to French hospitals.

In his question, the far-right MP Gennio referred to a working committee announced in 2013 between the French Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Paris Hospitals Foundation (AP-HP), asking about its findings and calling for diplomatic channels to be activated to recover what he described as “accumulated debts.”

However, the government’s response was damning, refuting what had been reported in the media and discussed politically regarding this issue, and confirming that it did not reflect reality or the true amount of the debt, which does not exceed €2.6 million, while Algeria has paid around €147 million over the past 15 years.
This means that the Algerian state has committed to paying more than 98% of the dues since 2010, and the remainder represents less than 2%, which raises the question: where are the “tens of millions annually” that some in the French media, especially the far right, are shouting about?

The French government’s response revealed that relations between the two countries on this issue are governed by a general social security agreement signed on October 1, 1980, supported by additional protocols, most notably the one signed on April 10, 2016, relating to scheduled treatment for Algerian social security beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries residing in Algeria.
These agreements concern the treatment of Algerian citizens in France, particularly for medical conditions that cannot be treated in Algeria, provided that they obtain prior approval from the Algerian social security system.

According to the same document, the agreement also covers direct payment mechanisms between Algerian and French social security funds, within joint committees organized alternately by the two countries, the last of which was held in the French municipality of Vannes in December 2018.

The remaining debts, described in the response as “private debts,” relate to emergency treatment for Algerian citizens outside the scope of the agreement while they were on French soil. These are not the responsibility of the Algerian state, but rather fall within the scope of what most hospitals in France experience with foreign patients of various nationalities.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that these debts “do not concern Algerians alone,” but are linked to collection difficulties resulting from the fragmentation of follow-up between hospitals, as well as difficulties in locating patients later on.

However, what the French bidders, especially those on the right and far right, did not dare to mention is that the percentage of treatment visas granted to Algerians represents only 0.21 percent of the total visas obtained by Algerian nationals from French consulates, and that their files go through the official administrative process and are not “random entries for free hospitalization,” as is being promoted.

This stark contrast between what some French right-wing and far-right circles promote and what the Foreign Ministry itself officially acknowledges also raises questions about who is behind this “fictitious” issue each time and why it is brought to the forefront during every political crisis in France.