Macron Assigns His Advisor To Prepare His Visit To Algeria

The date of the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron is approaching, and serious preparations have begun for the success of this visit, which the two heads of the state depend on to advance the bilateral relations, which have been faltering for nearly a year and deteriorating the French interests in Algeria.

In this regard, the French newspaper “L’Opinion” said that Patrick Durel, special advisor to the French president in charge of North Africa and the Middle East affairs, will move to Algeria to prepare for the upcoming visit of the inmate of the Elysee Palace, but without indicating a date for that.

The newspaper, close to the financial and business circles in Paris, stated that the visit will extend over the 25th and 26th of this month, according to what it quoted from its sources, contrary to what has circulated earlier that the visit is only one day, and indicated that Macron will be accompanied by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, and a large number of members of Elizabeth Bourne’s government, but without referring to their ministerial sectors.

The newspaper quoted an Algerian source as saying that President Tebboune and his French counterpart are aiming, behind this visit, to establish new relations after many months of turmoil, based on mutual respect in an atmosphere of calm and exchange of interests, and to open a new page, which helps to face challenges in a turbulent regional and international environment.

This visit comes three months after the invitation by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to his French counterpart to visit Algeria, an invitation that coincided with the congratulations he sent to him on the occasion of winning a second presidential term, and was followed by the appointment of the former ambassador to Spain, Said Moussi, as ambassador to Paris, who worked in France as chargé d’affaires, then as a consul for years.

On top of the files that will be discussed, there is the issue of the movement of people (the visa file) for Algerians, which has declined by about fifty per cent, according to previous statements by French officials, an issue that caused Algerian anger, which prompted the Algerian Foreign Ministry to issue a statement, in which it called on Paris to respect bilateral agreements.

The issue of Algeria’s demand to deport members of the terrorist organization the “MAK Movement”, led by its head, Farhat Mehenni, will also be present in the discussions between the two presidents, says the newspaper, as well as the thorny file of memory, which often aggravated bilateral relations.

Previously, President Tebboune had presented his vision for solving the memory dilemma, during the recent visit of Macron’s advisor on memory affairs, the historian Benjamin Stora, to Algeria to participate in the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of Independence Day. He was informed that Algerian cooperation in the field of memory depends on opening the file of the French occupation of Algeria, From 1830 until 1962, which means that the ball is now on the French side.

In addition to all these files, there is also the current file, which was fueled by the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, which is related to the gas issue, as France and the rest of the European countries are looking for an alternative to Russian gas, and they are convinced that Algerian gas is the most appropriate and optimal solution, and an agreement has already been signed in this regard between Sonatrach and the French “ENGIE” recently, regarding gas quantities as well as a review of its prices based on the current market data.