Paris Leans Toward Reason After Despairing Of Achieving Its Goals Through Leverage

After months of refusal and fleeing forward, French authorities have leaned toward the option of de-escalation with Algeria, hoping to dismantle mines obstructing the restoration of normal bilateral relations, since French President, Emmanuel Macron, decided nearly two years ago to bias flagrantly toward the Moroccan regime regarding the Western Sahara issue, despite his awareness of the sensitivity of this file for Algeria.

In an unexpected position, the French prosecutor surprised the defense team and judges by requesting the release of the Algerian consular agent, who has been in prison in France outside of diplomatic and consular norms for over a year, on the grounds that his continued imprisonment “is no longer useful in reaching the truth”, which was considered a shift in this case that has prevented progress in bilateral relations despite mutual official visits between officials of the two countries.

Based on what was reported by the French newspaper “Le Monde”, the request from the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office came following a release request submitted by defense lawyers, which was considered, according to the newspaper, a “clear retreat” in the prosecution’s position on this case, as the Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office had until now rejected all requests to release the consular employee.

The newspaper questioned whether this data is considered a “new flexibility linked to efforts made behind the scenes between Paris and Algeria to resolve the crisis and secure the release of the French journalist, Christophe Gleizes, whom the Algerian authorities have refused to pardon to this day”, despite the preparation of conditions for that, according to the French narrative.

Until now, the liberties and detention judge in charge of the Algerian consular employee’s case still refuses to release him, as happened in the session on June 18, but the refusal decision was appealed, and the decision is to be issued in a session held before July 13, according to “Le Monde” sources.

Until recently, French officials justified the continued imprisonment of the Algerian consular employee, who was imprisoned in a plot orchestrated by former French Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, on April 12, 2025, by the independence of justice, a justification that did not convince the Algerian side, which insisted on the corruption of the procedures for imprisoning the consular employee who fell victim to the enmity of French political parties trying to employ the crisis with Algeria to achieve political and electoral gains.

French leaks talk about signs of a French offer for a swap between the Algerian consular employee and the French journalist who is serving a seven-year prison sentence in a case related to supporting and praising terrorism, which collapses the narrative of French officials who argued for a long time about the independence of French justice, which proved false over time after the shift that occurred in the recent French prosecution position.

Perhaps what reinforces this approach is that the organization “Reporters Without Borders” picked up on the change in the French prosecution’s position on the case of the Algerian consular employee and the demand for the release of the French journalist, whose fate remains hanging on the decision of French justice.

According to what was reported by “Le Monde”, the French side became convinced that the continued imprisonment of the Algerian consular employee is considered a major obstacle to any normalization of relations between the two countries, rather it destroyed any hope for a pardon for the sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, for whom all Paris’s efforts to obtain a pardon failed, and some French practices even increased the complexity of his situation by trying to internationalize his case by involving the International Federation of Association Football in provoking Algeria.

In the view of observers, the Algerian toughness in dealing with Paris’s pleas to release the French journalist is what pushed the French government to pressure “independent” justice in order to search for a solution that ends the imprisonment of the consular employee and his return to his family in Algeria.

This is clearly evident through the timing of the French prosecution’s leaning toward requesting the release of the consular employee, which coincides with Independence Day in Algeria (July 5), on which the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, usually issues pardons for prisoners.

However, in light of the French side’s hesitation in releasing the consular employee, it is unlikely that a pardon will be issued for Christophe Gleizes on the occasion of Independence Day, because trust is lost between the two sides, and keeping the Algerian national without full release by depriving him of returning to his family will also apply to the French prisoner, who is not unlikely to receive the same treatment, meaning ending the procedures on both sides regardless of the justifications of the French side, which argues for the completion of litigation procedures for the French national, unlike the Algerian national.

In a related context, the investigative newspaper “Mediapart” quoted a French diplomatic source expressing pessimism about the restoration of relations between Algeria and Paris due to their specific nature. It pointed out that the decision of French President, Emmanuel Macron, regarding the Western Sahara issue, caused an earthquake that almost led to a diplomatic rupture, and brought back to the forefront a series of sensitive files that diplomacy between Algeria and France was trying to hide, most notably the somber colonial legacy and historical memory.