French Right Draws Up a Post-Storm Plan With Algeria

The French far right is attempting to steer the course of Franco-Algerian relations, exploiting the recent rapprochement between the two countries.

However, what is striking is the focus on achieving French interests, starting with issues that concern Paris, primarily addressing immigration, security cooperation, and revising the 1968 agreement.

Following the setback suffered by the right-wing political establishment with the rejection of former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau’s plan for managing the crisis with Algeria, an editorial in Friday’s edition of Le Figaro revealed a strategy for managing the post-storm phase from its right-wing perspective. It spoke of the imminent resumption of dialogue between Algeria and Paris, which it claimed had become “possible, desirable, and necessary.”

However, it quickly questioned the wording and purpose. It began discussing the demand for “good cooperation” between intelligence agencies, immigration and security issues, as well as the repatriation of deportees and a review of the 1968 agreement. Meanwhile, it ignored the issues that weaken the French position in any potential negotiations, most notably France’s colonial past in Algeria (memory), in addition to the controversial French stance on the Western Sahara issue, which is considered the main cause of the crisis that erupted between the two countries more than a year ago.

The right-wing newspaper wrote: “We are not asking the Algerian authorities to erase history, but rather to keep the warships in port,” implying that this sensitive issue should be kept out of discussion so as not to jeopardise the warming of bilateral relations. This stance reeks of hypocrisy and selfishness, especially since Algeria has made it a non-negotiable condition in any negotiations with the French side, which continues to refuse to assume its responsibilities.

Despite recognising the sensitivity of this issue, the right-wing media, representing a broad segment of French politicians who still yearn for “French Algeria,” dismisses Algerian demands, asking: “Will (Algeria) continue to demand accountability from France regarding its past nuclear tests in the (Algerian) Sahara, or its policies towards Morocco and Israel? Isn’t it time to turn over a new page?”

The French side appears eager to resume bilateral talks to repair the severed ties between the two countries, basing this eagerness on what it considers a “radical change in rhetoric” from French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, and the head of the foreign intelligence service, Nicolas Lerner. All three have emphasised that the rhetoric of the former French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau exacerbated bilateral relations.

In this context, the newspaper revealed that the Secretary-General of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anne-Marie Descotes, is expected to visit Algeria soon, though it did not specify a date. The fate of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez’s visit also remains uncertain, underscoring the difficulty of resuming talks given the extent of the damage inflicted on bilateral relations, for which President Emmanuel Macron bears responsibility.

So far, no official position has been issued by Algeria regarding the visits, which were only revealed by the French side. Laurent Nunez’s visit was announced by him, and the visit of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not been confirmed by any official from either country. It is not unlikely that French officials will leak this information to absorb the anger of the French elites, who have not appreciated the gratuitous antagonism into which Macron has become involved with a country with which relations cannot be neglected, given the geopolitical calculations of French influence in the Maghreb region.