Return Of Skirmishes With Algeria Bolsters Fears Of Losing France Interests
While Algerian-French relations remain mired in the Élysée Palace unbalanced decision regarding the Western Sahara issue, relations between Algeria and Paris neighbors among Europeans are advancing remarkably, signaling French isolation in North Africa, which Socialist presidential candidate Ségolène Royal warned about.
The former minister and leader in the French Socialist Party sounded the alarm due to Emmanuel Macron policy, which led to the loss of many of Paris economic and geopolitical interests in the Maghreb region, because of its incomprehensible embrace of the Moroccan regime at the expense of other countries considered key in Paris policy in the region.
Ms. Ségolène Royal wrote in a “tweet” on her Twitter account, Sunday, July 19, 2026, commenting on the loss of French interests in Algeria: “Energy and public works contracts with Italy, and a trip to Germany that yielded about thirty contracts including green hydrogen and the automotive industry, and the upcoming visit of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to Algeria to present several projects, marginalize France after its exclusion from the Sahel and Francophone Africa as a result of a disastrous diplomatic policy”.
The president of the “Algeria-France Association” refers here to the privileges Italy gained from its excellent relations with Algeria, including deals in energy and public works. She also pointed to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune visit at the end of last week to Germany, which resulted in the signing of about thirty agreements touching the energy and renewable energy sector (green hydrogen), as well as the automotive industry, specifically the brand “Opel”, which decided to localize its engine manufacturing in Algeria, while the French “Renault” plant remains halted.
As for the other blow dealt to Paris, according to Ms. Ségolène Royal, it is the visit of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, this Monday, July 20, 2026, to Algeria, which increases Paris isolation in the region, after being expelled from the Sahel and Francophone Africa as a result of Macron policy and his disastrous diplomacy, as expressed by the Socialist Party candidate for the upcoming French presidential elections.
In the same context, Ms. Royal expressed her shock at what is happening to France in its relations with Algeria, saying that relations between the two countries “are now witnessing an almost complete halt in our institutional partnerships in the industrial, agricultural, construction, and port sectors”, at a time when “political skirmishes resumed in the past few days, ignoring strategic imperatives”, referring to the repercussions of the statement by French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu regarding Western Sahara last Thursday from the capital of the Moroccan regime.
The former French Environment Minister stressed the need for the two countries (Algeria and France) to reach an “understanding away from bias” toward one country at the expense of another, referring to the French position with uncalculated consequences on the Western Sahara issue.
She wrote: “We must re-weave bridges of understanding between the two shores of the Mediterranean, away from any dependency or alignment with the political and diplomatic choices of sovereign states”.
Here Ms. Royal pointed to her political project for the French presidential elections scheduled for next year, regarding how to deal with sensitive issues such as the Western Sahara issue, which was the direct cause of destroying relations between Algeria and Paris: “By the year 2027 (the date of the French presidential elections), it will be necessary to revive a diplomacy characterized by wisdom and foresight, based on calm and mutual respect, with all Mediterranean neighboring countries, establishing a fruitful partnership and serving common interests”.
The French politician tweet came on the eve of the visit led by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to Algeria, which the Spanish press considered an announcement of “turning the page on the dispute permanently” regarding the Western Sahara issue after Madrid leaned toward international law and United Nations resolutions, and strengthening the bilateral partnership by agreeing to increase Algerian gas supplies and enhancing the presence of Spanish companies in the Algerian market, in dedication to new trends.
According to the Spanish “Europa Press” agency, citing government sources, the Spanish side seeks to hike the amount of Algerian gas reaching Madrid via the “Medgaz” pipeline, which connects Algeria directly to Spanish territory, by about 10%, and doubling the shipments of liquefied gas transported by giant tankers, due to its competitiveness given the ease of transport via pipelines or giant carriers, by virtue of the distance factor, a trend framed by the European Union decision to stop importing Russian gas by next year.After Italy secured the largest shipments of Algerian gas due to the long-standing stability in bilateral relations.
The Spanish partner is also trying to benefit from the improvement in its relations with Algeria by increasing shipments of liquefied gas and natural gas transported via pipelines, which indicates that the French party will be the loser in this equation, because it had been betting since Macron’s visit to Algeria in 2022 on doubling Algerian gas exports to France, an agreement that did not materialize at the time, before faltering completely after the setback suffered by bilateral relations on July 30, 2024, when the French President decided on a blatant bias toward the Moroccan autonomy plan in the Western Sahara issue.
