French Interior Minister Backtracks, Confirms He Will Accept Invitation From Algerian Counterpart

French Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, provided clarifications regarding the statements made by Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, about the 1968 agreement, as well as the main topics of his supposed visit to Algeria, the fate of which remains unknown amidst the French side’s attempt to impose preconditions.

These conditions were recently criticized by the president of the “France-Algeria Association”, Ségolène Royal, who considered them proof of Paris’s lack of seriousness in rebuilding bridges of communication between the two countries.

The French minister adopted a calmer tone than before, when he had stated that certain conditions must be met before visiting Algeria. In an interview with the French private news channel “BFM TV” on Monday, February 9, 2026, he said that preparations are underway to accept the invitation from his Algerian counterpart.

Algeria had shown indifference to Nuñez’s visit, as stated by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune last Saturday in his regular meeting with national media. Meanwhile, Ségolène Royal attacked Interior Minister Nuñez for setting preconditions, saying: “When you set conditions, you don’t want to go.”

The French official explained that his anticipated visit to Algeria falls within the context of his country’s authorities’ efforts to review the 1968 agreement, which is at the heart of an unprecedented crisis between the two countries for decades.

He claimed that the French side’s desire to review this agreement stems from an understanding between the presidents of the two countries, Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Emmanuel Macron, a statement whose sole source remains the French side.

Laurent Nuñez stated that his anticipated visit to Algeria will focus on two aspects. The first is the 1968 agreement, and he emphasized the clause related to the right of Algerians to reside on French territory, which is not governed by general law or residency law, in addition to some facilities granted to them in terms of immigration, unlike other nationalities. Meanwhile, the Algerian side argues that this agreement has been emptied of its content over the three revisions introduced in 1985, 1994, and 2001.

According to Nuñez, the French government aims to reduce the special facilities for Algerians regarding family residency (the right to family reunification) and residency for economic purposes. He said that his country is seeking to strike a balance between the two, after negotiations with the Algerian side, which had expressed its reluctance through unofficial statements.

The second aspect of the visit, according to Laurent Nuñez, focuses on security cooperation, readmission, counter-terrorism, and organized crime, noting that his services have not been able to deport even one person to Algeria, except for those who decided to return “voluntarily.”

He said: “The tension still exists, but we will overcome it in the future,” because about 40% of administrative detention center inmates are Algerian, according to his claim, knowing that President Tebboune, in his last appearance, said that Algeria will not accept the deportation of Algerians who work and reside on French territory with their families, by administrative decisions and not by judicial ones.

After having set conditions for the visit, Nuñez said that the invitation is still open and confirmed that he would accept it, indicating that preparations are well underway, in a remarkable shift in the position of the French official, who had been severely criticized by the former socialist candidate for the French presidential elections, Ségolène Royal, during her recent visit to Algeria, who addressed him saying: “He (the French Interior Minister) must go (to Algeria).”