Paris Bears Full Responsibility For Destroying Bilateral Relations!

What does France want from Algeria? A question that has become more urgent in light of France’s persistence in provoking the Algerian side by sending “spies” in the form of diplomatic staff, fully aware that such a practice will further complicate the situation of bilateral relations, which are experiencing an unprecedented crisis in their history.

About a month ago, the Algerian authorities decided to expel 12 officials with security backgrounds working at the French embassy in Algeria. This decision was presented as a message to decision-makers in Paris that Algeria is not ready to receive any official working under the tutelage of French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who made escalation with Algeria an electoral exercise that all French people, except their president, Emmanuel Macron, understood, unless he is fully aware of this but unable to take any step to stop this minister from destroying what is left of the bilateral relations.

Otherwise, how else can we explain that the Minister of the Interior has once again sent intelligence agents disguised as diplomats in a desperate and childish act, but more than provocative to the Algerian side, which from the outset has made sure to strictly respect the relevant agreements concluded between the two countries, as well as the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963.

This question was answered by parliamentarian and professor of international relations Ali Rabiej, who described what happened on the French side as “an unacceptable act that contradicts diplomatic norms” that would lead to the destruction of what remains of bilateral relations, which have entered a dark tunnel, exemplified by the absence of diplomatic representation between the two countries, reduced to the level of chargé d’affaires, after the withdrawal of the French ambassador, Stephane Romatet, about a month ago after the Algerian authorities expelled 12 consular officers.

The number of French executives expelled by the Algerian authorities since April 15 has reached 27, all with a security and intelligence background, compared to 12 consular officers on the Algerian side, which indicates that things are developing very badly, which may reach the point of severing diplomatic relations, if the French side continues to fabricate one crisis after another.

He blames French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has taken bilateral relations “hostage to his narrow electoral calculations” in the race for the leadership of the right-wing Republicans party, but also French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been watching him poison these relations for months.

Whoever is behind the destruction of bilateral relations, the unmistakable result is that France and its official institutions have proven, according to the same source, that they “do not respect the principles of diplomatic relations by circumventing them in devious ways in order to introduce unwanted persons into Algeria,” referring to internal security officers in France, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior.

Diplomatic norms and relevant bilateral agreements require that “no official or employee can be appointed in embassies or consulates, except in consultation with the host country, which did not happen in the case in question, because Paris did not submit any list of names to the Algerian Foreign Ministry to give approval or not, which is considered a serious political mistake, and the party that violated this rule bears the responsibility.”

Although the French side is convinced that it is the cause of the deepening crisis between the two countries, and that the French Interior Minister is the one fueling the crisis, his counterpart in the government, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, did not hesitate to threaten to respond to Algeria’s expulsion of 15 employees of the French Embassy in Algiers by activating the principle of reciprocity.

In a statement on Monday, May 12, 2025, Jean-Noël Barrot said that France would respond “immediately and proportionately” to Algeria’s decision to expel the 15 employees of the French embassy in Algiers, estimating that the decision “is neither in the interest of Algeria nor in the interest of France.” It would have been better for his country’s authorities to work to curb those who constantly destroy bilateral relations before complaining about their slide into a stalemate.