French Hold Macron Responsible for Losing in Algeria

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s visit to Italy last weekend received particular attention from political and media circles in France, given its proximity to an unprecedented political and diplomatic crisis between Algeria and Paris. Leading specialists and political analysts considered it a resounding failure of French diplomacy.

The French discussed President Tebboune’s visit to Rome from the perspective of Rome being Paris’s main competitor in the struggle for influence in the former French colony. They focused on the economic and geopolitical gains the Italians have achieved from their rapprochement with Algeria, as well as the losses incurred by France due to the mismanagement of the crisis with it, which began, as is well known, last summer following France’s biased position toward the Moroccan regime on the Western Sahara issue.

The launch was based on the outcomes of President Tebboune’s visit to Rome, the second of its kind in about three years. This visit, as is well known, culminated in the signing of numerous partnership agreements in various sectors, including industry, energy, agriculture, energy transition, and security. The distinguished reception President Tebboune received from officials in the capital of Roman civilisation was, in itself was a powerful message to the French side.

Images and videos of President Tebboune walking alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were broadcast on the far-right CNews channel on Thursday, July 24, 2025. A journalist commented with regret on these scenes and protocols, saying, “It’s extremely humiliating to be French. It’s unbearable,” according to Louis de Raguenel.

The same political analyst added, “It’s a state visit, with all the usual protocols, not a secret visit.” He continued, “If Giorgia Meloni is doing this, she’s doing so because she feels empowered by the Italian people. She’s not afraid of us at all.” He pointed out that Meloni is defending her country’s supreme interests, as demonstrated by the outcomes of this visit, which generate economic benefits for the Italians at a time when the French should be defending their strategic interests, rather than continuing to display moral fanaticism and defend interests that do not belong to France. This was a reference to Macron’s decision to side with the Moroccan regime in the Western Sahara issue.

The visit also had a significant impact on the French, as it came just days after the European Union announced its intention to resort to arbitration in the case of the partnership agreement between Algeria and Brussels. This measure was intended to demonstrate European solidarity against Algeria, even though France was behind this sudden move, which came at a time when the two parties had begun negotiations to resolve differences and review the agreement under its provisions.

The shock was also present for Bernard Cohen-Hadad, head of the Marcel Etienne think tank, who, on the same channel, discussed the excellent level of relations between Algeria and Rome, as well as the return of warmth to ties with Spain, which, he said, runs counter to French interests. He held the French side responsible for what was happening, due to the decision taken by Macron last summer regarding the Western Sahara issue.

The spokesman described what happened to France after President Tebboune visited Rome as a “slap in the face” delivered by Giorgia Meloni. Bernard Cohen-Haddad said, “It doesn’t make you happy to be French when you see this slap. It’s a slap in the face for French diplomacy.”

The French fear that Italy will become a pivotal player in relations between Algeria and the European Union, due to its diplomatic acumen in not siding with the Moroccan regime in the Western Sahara issue. This issue has cost some European countries, such as France and Spain, many of their interests and privileges in a country the size of Algeria, due to inaccurate calculations, as Bernard Cohen-Hadad has stated.