The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons the Chargé d’Affaires of the French Embassy in Algeria

The Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the French Republic in Algeria was summoned on Wednesday to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Director-General of Protocol, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The statement indicated that this summons comes in response to the statement published by the French diplomatic mission regarding the accreditation of French diplomatic and consular agents in Algeria.

The same source added that the French diplomat was “strongly alerted to the serious violation of established diplomatic norms contained in this statement.” In this context, the French Chargé d’Affaires was informed that this statement is “unacceptable, neither in form nor in content, as it contains a misleading presentation of facts and directly addresses the Algerian public in an attempt to assign exclusive and full responsibility to the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the non-accreditation of French diplomatic and consular agents in Algeria.”

In terms of form, “this action by the Embassy cannot be tolerated, as it violates the spirit and text of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.” In terms of content, the French diplomat was reminded that “he is personally aware of the background and precise details of this issue.”

The truth, the statement continues, is that “the non-accreditation of French diplomatic and consular agents in Algeria came after a similar French decision and after exhausting all avenues initiated by the Algerian side to resolve this dispute in a way that satisfies both countries, as it is merely a strict application of the principle of reciprocity, no more and no less.”

The same source explained that “the French authorities initiated, more than two years ago, the refusal to accredit heads of consular centers and Algerian consular agents in France,” adding that “as a result of this situation, three consuls general and six Algerian consuls have not received the required accreditations, despite more than six months having passed since their applications were submitted.”

Similarly, “46 Algerian diplomatic and consular agents have been unable to assume their positions in France due to the French authorities’ disregard for their accreditation requests.”

This situation, which “the French authorities deliberately and intentionally created, has caused serious harm to Algerian nationals residing in France, as it negatively affected the consular services provided to them and weakened the quality of consular protection that should be provided to them,” according to the same statement.

In conclusion, it was “strongly emphasized to the French diplomat that he is fully aware that the visa issue is not only related to the matter of accreditations and that it has become known that his government has made this issue a pivotal pressure tool within the ‘iron fist’ policy it seeks to impose on Algeria.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that the French government “continues to practice a policy of blackmail regarding the visa file,” pointing out that “the first phase of this policy concluded with Algeria’s decision to terminate the Algerian-French agreement of 2013 concerning the mutual exemption from visas for holders of diplomatic passports and service passports.”

“Today, the French authorities are opening a second phase of this policy, targeting holders of ordinary passports, a phase they seek to manage through methods of blackmail, bargaining, and pressure,” the statement concluded.