How Did Paris Transform a Dead Draft Resolution Into a Message of Appeasement?

Less than a week before the Algiers Judicial Council issued its final decision in the case of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, the French side sent flirtatious messages to the Algerian authorities, in line with the appeasement language adopted by French President Emmanuel Macron, who avoided provocative positions.

In a surprising move, the French National Assembly withdrew a draft resolution to abolish the 1968 immigration agreement between Algeria and France. The resolution was proposed by the parliamentary group of a small right-wing party led by Eric Ciotti, leader of Les Républicains (The Republicans), who was expelled from the party following his surprise alliance with the far-right, led by Marine Le Pen, in the recent legislative elections.

The draft resolution was scheduled to be discussed last Thursday, but it was suddenly announced that it had been withdrawn under mysterious circumstances. This appeared to be a token of appeasement to the Algerian side, as the French feared an escalation that would not serve their interests in Algeria. Does this parliamentary action amount to a valid initiative to de-escalate tensions between the two countries?

The parliamentary group that submitted the draft resolution has only 16 members and belongs to a fledgling party, the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), which is less than a year old, and was founded by Eric Ciotti after he was ousted last summer from the leadership of the right-wing Republicans party. The current Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, became its leader in May.

This party is considered very close to the far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen and her assistant Jordan Bardella. It ranked third in the recent legislative elections, behind the left-wing movement, or the New National Front, which won a parliamentary majority, and Macron’s Renaissance, which ranked second. This means that the gamble of Eric Ciotti’s group, which pushed for this project, remains a losing one from the start, even if the far right supports it, given the level of representation in the lower house of parliament.

The draft resolution claims that the 1968 agreement grants Algerians exceptional privileges, unlike other members of the Maghreb and African communities, in the areas of housing, residence, education, and the practice of liberal professions. The draft resolution states that “it is time to adapt our legal arsenal regarding immigration to the development of our relationship with Algeria,” and calls for “the restoration of the state’s legal means to limit the granting of visas to Algerians, and to suspend them when necessary.”

This draft was preceded by similar initiatives targeting the 1968 migration agreement between Algeria and France, but they failed due to a lack of the required votes. This indicates that the Eric Ciotti Group’s draft resolution was not intended to overturn this long-standing agreement, but rather to pursue political and diplomatic objectives through its introduction and subsequent withdrawal.

French President Emmanuel Macron has previously intervened on more than one occasion to confirm that he does not intend to unilaterally abrogate the 1968 agreement. He has clashed repeatedly with his Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, regarding the latter’s continued interference in Algerian relations, asserting that this remains the exclusive prerogative of the Élysée Palace and the Quai d’Orsay (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

All this data indicates that the French lower house’s continued progress on the draft resolution would have led nowhere, given the lack of chances of its passage. However, its withdrawal at the last minute transformed the initiative into a courtship of the Algerian side, adding to the recent rapprochement efforts between the two capitals following months of unprecedented escalation.

The Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Living Abroad, Laurent Saint-Martin, took advantage of this situation to praise the MPs, considering the decision to send a calming message that would help reduce the tensions that characterise Algerian-French relations.