The sinister architect of discord in Paris returns to spotlight. Calls for escalation and breaking undeclared truce with Algeria

Whenever the situation stalls and stagnation dominates relations between Algeria and France, certain French circles known for their reliance on hostile narratives toward the former colony resort to one of the controversial diplomatic figures who spent part of their professional career in Algeria, attempting to impose a method of operation that has been tested and proven to fail.

This figure is the former French ambassador, Xavier Driencourt, who served as ambassador to Algeria for two terms (2008 / 2012) and (2017 / 2020). He had been absent from the media spotlight during recent weeks, a period characterized by a state of calm in relations between the two countries.

Through the timing of this media appearance, which coincided with the passing of July 5, its architects wanted to stir the stagnant waters of relations between Algeria and Paris, especially since the French side was betting on an initiative from the Algerian side in the form of a presidential pardon for the French sports journalist, Christophe Gleizes, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence after confessing to committing serious acts punishable by Algerian law.

In an interview published on the website of the right-wing French newspaper “Le Figaro” on Tuesday, July 7, the retired French diplomat revived an approach tried with Algeria that proved its failure by the admission of more than one French official, led by the master of the Elysee Palace, Emmanuel Macron, his Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, and the current Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez.

This is the iron-fist policy or the so-called “balance of power” that former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau imposed on the fallen government of Francois Bayrou about a year ago.

Xavier Driencourt, commenting on a question about the French prisoner not benefiting from the presidential pardon on the occasion of Independence Day about four days ago, said that the Algerian authorities “refuse to grant a gift” to the French side.

Based on this, he proceeded to offer advice to Emmanuel Macron’s administration, calling on it to review the currently adopted policy in which Paris abandoned the style of threats and the policy of dictates, claiming that it has not borne fruit, as he alleged.

What is striking in this talk show “Point of View” hosted by journalist Anne-Emmanuelle Isaac, is that she treated the case of the imprisoned French journalist as if it were an isolated matter and not a chapter in a series of crises that exploded between the two countries due to transgressions by the other party, with each chapter linked to another. This suggested to those ignorant of the reality of the deep disputes between Algeria and Paris that the case of Christophe Gleizes summarizes the current crisis, a narrative the French side tries to establish despite its falsity.

By the admission of the French themselves, as reported in “Le Monde” last week, citing its sources, the officials of both countries concluded during the visit of the Keeper of the Seals and French Minister of Justice, Gerald Moussa Darmanin, to Algeria last May, that any progress in the de-escalation project must pass through solving the case of the Algerian consular agent held in prison in France outside of diplomatic and consular norms, which is one of the crises caused by the former French Interior Minister before he left the government.

In the view of the retired French diplomat, the failure of the Macron administration in managing the crisis with Algeria is due to a “lack of understanding” of the decision-making mechanisms.

This failure has persisted throughout the reigns of various successive French presidents, with the exception of the late Jacques Chirac, who he said exchanged respect with his Algerian counterpart, the late Abdelaziz Bouteflika. At the same time, he expected the Algerian community in France, specifically the Great Mosque of Paris, to play a role in the upcoming French presidential election scene in the spring of next year.