French Interior Minister Doubts Renewal of Ties with Algeria

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez expressed cautious pessimism about the future of Franco-Algerian relations, citing recent setbacks that seemed objective, including a revival of political blackmail and media incitement from the French side after an undeclared truce.

Laurent Nuñez used the phrase “we must remain vigilant” in an interview published in Saturday’s edition of Le Figaro, discussing relations between Algeria and Paris. He has adopted a contrasting approach to the Algerian issue to that of his predecessor at the Élysée Palace, Bruno Retailleau, who now leads the right-wing Republicans (LR) party.

Nuñez commented on bilateral relations: “Since my visit, relations and contacts have resumed, but we must make more progress. I will remain vigilant and committed.” These remarks, therefore, highlight the challenges the French side faces in repairing the damage caused by the Macron administration.

Since the French Interior Minister visited Algeria, tensions between Paris and Algiers have escalated. The visit was prompted by an incident involving Ségolène Royal, head of the “France-Algeria Association,” who embarrassed President Emmanuel Macron’s administration over its management of Algerian-French relations. In response, Algeria has explicitly assigned responsibility for the renewed diplomatic strain to France.

Bilateral relations began returning to normal after Nuñez visited Algeria in mid-February. Nevertheless, Paris then initiated a new provocation by extending the detention of an Algerian consular official for another year. This imprisonment was deemed to violate consular laws and customs enshrined in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The French provocation did not stop at extending the detention of the Algerian consular official. It escalated when French anti-terrorism prosecutor Olivier Christen, speaking on the “France Info” platform, made serious accusations against Algerian authorities. This prompted a strong response from Algeria, which accused the Macron administration of protecting criminals convicted by the Algerian judiciary for embezzlement, undermining national stability, and committing terrorism-related crimes.

For the first time, Algerian authorities revealed specific figures, stating that their French counterparts (the judiciary) refused to comply with 61 judicial requests concerning criminals residing on French soil and enjoying French protection. This occurred despite bilateral judicial cooperation agreements, a test in which Paris failed. In contrast, stable partners such as Switzerland and Spain granted Algeria final approval to recover looted funds held in their jurisdictions.

Paris, on the other hand, engaged in what appears to be highly opportunistic diplomacy. Specifically, it sought to bypass Algerian justice by involving Pope Leo XIV, who is scheduled to visit Algeria this week, in the Christophe Gleizes affair. However, this effort seems to have failed after the Algerian side revealed the manoeuvre.

The recent statement by the French Interior Minister reveals that attempts to restore warmth to bilateral relations lasted only a few weeks before things turned upside down. Furthermore, recent developments on the Algeria-Paris axis confirm the presence of influential lobbies within the French state apparatus that appear to deliberately sabotage these relations whenever hope for recovery emerges.