Paris’s Repeated Provocations Confirm Its Lack Of Seriousness In Mending Relations With Algeria.

Algerian-French relations are once again heading towards a dead end, a reading supported by three strong indicators that have recently emerged. What is striking is that France, which claims to be keen on building bridges with Algeria, is the one that repeatedly causes one setback after another.

The first of these indicators is what was revealed in the statement from the Council of Ministers meeting held on Sunday, April 5, 2026, which confirmed that the French side refused to respond to 61 judicial requests concerning individuals wanted by justice in Algeria, who were involved in embezzling public funds and committed terrorist crimes against the state.

The second indicator of the bilateral relations sliding to a deep level is the provocative accusations made by the French anti-terrorism prosecutor, Olivier Christian, against Algeria last weekend in an interview with the public broadcaster “France Info,” which the Algerian authorities described as a “miserable accusation.”

The third indicator is the attempt by the administration of French President Emmanuel Macron to circumvent the sovereign decisions of Algerian justice by appealing to Pope Leon XIV of the Vatican to mediate with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during his visit to Algeria in about a week, for the release of French journalist Christophe Gleiz, who is implicated in charges of supporting and glorifying terrorism.

The Algerian authorities, as usual, did not let the French provocation pass without a response. They attacked the French anti-terrorism prosecutor through an authorized source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, describing his statements as a “miserable assault,” and expressed their strong “condemnation and disdain” for it. They stated that what Olivier Christian said was used in the context of escalating political tension between the two countries, which was previously exploited by former French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.

This response from the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs comes in addition to its summoning of the Chargé d’Affaires of the French Embassy in Algeria last week, to convey the Algerian authorities’ protest against the extension of the detention period of an Algerian consular official in France, contrary to established diplomatic and consular norms, based on the Vienna Convention of 1961. This is also an additional indicator that relations between Algeria and Paris are heading towards an unknown fate.

Commenting on these developments, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the Higher School of Political Science, MP Ali Rabidj, believes that turning the page on disputes between the two countries seems out of reach at present, or rather, as long as French President Emmanuel Macron remains the decision-maker in the Élysée Palace.

Mr. Ali Rabidj said in a communication with “Echorouk” commenting on the matter: “I was and still am convinced that the restoration of calm to bilateral relations depends on the departure of French President Macron. As long as he remains the decision-maker in France, there are no prospects, no horizon, and no future for these relations.”

He added: “What has happened throughout the current French President’s term and what is happening in bilateral relations is a series of continuous harassment and pressures from Macron’s administration to extract a position, a decision, or a review of a position from Algeria regarding the memory file, the immigration issue, or economic and trade files.”

The professor of political science expected “these harassments” to continue as long as Macron is in power, and he expected Algeria to resort to what he called “strategic patience,” which it must possess, especially at the level of foreign policy, and that reactions should be carefully considered, so as not to fall into the trap and give him an opportunity to disrupt or distort Algeria, by mobilizing his political, economic, and media tools inside and outside France.

Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ response and the Council of Ministers’ statement hinting at the French administration’s refusal to cooperate judicially with Algeria, Ali Rabidj asserts that “any breakthrough in bilateral relations seems completely unlikely, because Macron only thinks of his interests and does not think of the fate of bilateral relations.”