French Interior Minister Visits Algeria and Leaves in Silence

The French Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, ended a fleeting working visit to Algeria, characterized by a lot of secrecy before and during the visit, culminating in a statement issued by the French official after being received by the President of the Republic, as he had previously published on his account on the “X” platform or “Twitter”, a tweet in which he praised the welcome given to him by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Darmanan said in a statement published on the Facebook page of the Presidency of the Republic that he was “honored” to be received “at length” by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, noting that he “brought him a message of affection and respect addressed to him by the French President Emmanuel Macron”. The French official also spoke about the existing cooperation between the two countries in the areas of immigration, security and justice.
In a previous tweet on the “X” or “Twitter” platform, Darmanin thanked President Tebboune for receiving him at the request of President Emmanuel Macron “to preserve the very special relationship between our two countries”. In another tweet, he posted a picture of himself with his Algerian counterpart, Ibrahim Merad, and spoke of cooperation in the fight against organized crime, immigration, drugs and social security.
It is clear that the tweet of the French Minister of the Interior was overshadowed by the protocol dimension, which is uncharacteristic of French officials, who are usually generous in revealing some of the minute details of their visits to Algeria and their discussions with them, indicating the sensitivity of the circumstance they are going through in Algerian-French relations in recent months.
There was no official announcement of this visit, neither from the Algerian nor from the French side, before it took place, and the Algerian reaction to this visit was limited to two brief statements from the Presidency of the Republic and the Ministry of the Interior, followed by Darmanin’s reception by the first official of the country and the Minister of the Interior, Ibrahim Merad, which has become a matter of Familiar course since the crises that have affected bilateral relations over the past three years.
However, what is striking about this visit is that it came on the eve of the French Senate (the upper chamber of Parliament), Monday, November 6, 2023, considering a draft law on asylum and immigration, through which the French authorities intend to tighten the conditions for receiving foreign immigrants and facilitate their deportation and detention for a period of up to two years, With the possibility of deporting them to their countries of origin without judicial authorization.
On the other hand, the draft law on immigration aims to promote selective immigration (aimed at the “grey”), which is rejected by a part of the French moderates, as well as by countries from which millions of immigrants come, such as Algeria, which feels the need to preserve the historical and legal gains of its community dating back to the period of French occupation.
The French immigration law under consideration has been a proposal by the current Minister of the Interior since last February, and it aims to tighten the fight against illegal immigration and facilitate the expulsion of foreigners who do not respect the “values of the Republic”, according to the statements of the French minister, who, in a series of tweets following his visit to Algeria, spoke of the expulsion of at least 11 immigrants to their countries of origin on various charges, without mentioning the countries concerned, which suggests the hypothesis that the Algerian side is drawing red lines for the French guest in a way that guarantees the rights of the members of the Algerian community there.
The revision of the French immigration law comes in the context of a campaign launched by the right and extreme right wings in France against the 1968 agreement signed between Algeria and Paris on immigration, including work, study and the practice of free activities. Some French extremists, led by the former French ambassador to Algeria, Xavier Driencourt, have reached the point of overturning this unilateral agreement if Algeria continues to refuse to revise it. However, the French authorities are afraid of a violent reaction from the Algerian side because of their strong pressure cards.