Macron Woos President Tebboune, Dreaming of Sansal’s Release
Just one day after the French justice issued a decision not to extradite fugitive former Minister of Industry Abdeslam Bouchaouareb, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a highly provocative statement calling on the Algerian authorities to release Algerian writer (who holds French citizenship) Boualem Sansal, who is accused of serious charges that threaten the country’s unity and security.
Macron said on Thursday evening, March 20, following the European summit in Brussels, that he hoped Boualem Sansal would regain his “freedom” after learning the trial’s details.
Although the French president’s statement appeared to appeal to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, saying, “What happened is very serious, but I have confidence in (Algerian) President Abdelmajid Tebboune and his foresight”, in the context of interstate relations, this remains a blatant interference in internal affairs, especially since the matter concerns the sensitive sector of justice.
Macron attempted to pave the way for this mistake by saying, “We are dealing with a great writer,” referring to Sansal. However, this justification remains unacceptable even in French practice, as France itself sentenced its former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in a final ruling to one year in prison for daring to interfere in the French justice system.
The independence of judicial authorities in the Western system, of which France is a part, is considered a red line that no one, including the president, can cross. Yet Macron insists on violating this rule, a reckless stance that suggests he is trying to treat Algeria like a banana country.
The French president’s statement came on the same day that the public prosecutor at the Algiers Dar Bida court requested a ten-year prison sentence for Sansal, and just one day after French justice, in a final ruling, refused to extradite fugitive Algerian minister Abdeslam Bouchouareb, despite proven involvement in corruption and bribery cases that caused significant damage to the national economy.
The French president’s statement carries serious implications, stating that the decisions of the French judicial authorities are respected, protected, and unaffected, meaning they are sovereign. Meanwhile, Algerian justice, he claims, can be influenced by politicians, a position that the Algerian authorities must condemn.
Boualem Sansal’s involvement in harming the country’s supreme interests has been proven through numerous videos circulating implicating him, as well as through incriminating documents found by investigators on his laptop and personal phone, documents he admitted belonged to him.
The French justice system’s decision to refuse to extradite the fugitive Algerian minister is a severe blow to French efforts to reach a swift resolution to the Boualem Sansal case. Any leniency on the part of the Algerian justice in this case would be a devastating blow to its credibility. Conversely, it would strengthen the credibility of French justice, which has not been subject to any interference, if any, from the executive branch in the extradition case of Abdeslam Bouchouareb.
Perhaps what indicates this is the strongly worded statement issued by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the French justice system’s refusal to extradite the fugitive minister. This statement revealed the French side’s betrayal of the agreements concluded between the two countries, which stipulate the exchange and extradition of wanted persons. This may lead to the belief that Sansal will not benefit from any mitigating measures in the ruling to be issued next Wednesday.
The Algerian government has taken note of the decision of the French courts to reject the extradition request of Abdeslam Bouchouareb, convicted by the Algerian courts in multiple cases of corruption, embezzlement and influence peddling causing considerable losses to the Algerian treasury, noting the lack of French cooperation, said a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs on Thursday.
“Without prejudice to the use of other legal avenues that are still possible, the Algerian Government takes this opportunity to highlight the total lack of cooperation from the French Government in matters of mutual legal assistance, despite the existence of numerous international and bilateral legal instruments provided for this purpose,” the press release added.
The lack of French cooperation was not limited to the Bouchouareb case, as the statement confirmed: “In its efforts to recover all the wealth it has been dispossessed of, Algeria has systematically encountered and continues to encounter unjustified and inexplicable procrastination and delays on the part of the French side, which have resulted in a total lack of responses to twenty-five letters rogatory submitted by Algeria.”
“This French attitude stands out compared to that of other European partners who are cooperating sincerely, loyally and without ulterior motive with the Algerian authorities on this issue of ill-gotten gains, illegally acquired property, an issue they know as particularly important and extremely sensitive for Algeria.”
The French judicial decision, which is complicit with corrupt individuals like the fugitive minister, exposes French President Emmanuel Macron’s appeal regarding the Sansal case as a case of contempt or political selfishness. This renders Macron’s appeal to his Algerian counterpart worthless in the context of international relations.
