French Parliament Anticipates Events With A “Debate On Algeria”!

The French Senate (upper chamber of parliament) anticipated the events with a heated and provocative political debate for the Algerian people, known for their sensitivity to outside interference, especially when it came to colonial France.

The French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, was strongly criticized by some members of the upper chamber of parliament, including Senator Olivier Leonard, a member of the parliamentary group of the European Democratic and Social Rally Party, and the reason for what he considered the French position to be negative about the popular “movement” in Algeria.

French Senator Olivier Leonhardt asked: “For months, the Algerian people are strongly mobilized, every week in an exemplary and peaceful manner, in small towns and in large communities, to demand freedom,” describing the silence of his government over what Algeria is experiencing as “disturbing”.

Although he acknowledged the specificity of Algerian-French relations, in which he highlighted security co-operation at the expense of other dimensions, he called on his government not to tolerate what he called “arbitrary arrests” (..), which affected political activists and associations, and defenders of Human rights, he said: “It is time to condemn the actions aimed at the democratic movement,” as he put it, but in his allegations he has forgotten what is happening to the yellow jackets protestors in his own country.
Olivier Leonard asked the French Prime Minister: “Will the French government condemn the campaign of arrests of political activists in Algeria?”.

The French Secretary of State to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoine, replied to the author of the question: “The situation in Algeria has been complicated for months, you know, to put things in perspective” (…), recalling the resignation of the former President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, followed by the decision of the Algerian parliament, which met to appoint an acting head of state”.

As for the representative of the French Prime Minister, the period allocated for the election of a President of the Republic, according to the Algerian Constitution, ended on the ninth of July, and the French official stopped at two directions, the first is represented by the popular movement, which is to aspire to open a new page for Algeria, while the orientation of the second, represented by the Algerian authorities, is looking for a solution based on a constitutional exit”.

According to the French Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the best way out of this dilemma is for the Algerians all together to find a path of democratic transition. This is what we hope for, he adds, for the sake of Algeria, “with which we have close and deep relations.” Stressing that French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, had the opportunity to meet recently with his Algerian counterpart, Sabri BoukAdoum, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.

As for the French government, there is no solution to the crisis that Algeria is going through, except through “democratic dialogue,” stressing his country’s keenness to stand by Algeria and Algerians, within the framework of “respect the bonds of friendship governing bilateral relations,” adds the Secretary of State to the French Foreign Ministry.