What Are Algeria's Questions That Paris Has To Answer?

Meetings between Algerian officials and their French counterparts are renewed by the convening of the fourth session of the Algerian-French Mixed Economic Commission, but in the absence of any reference to the postponed visit to Algeria by the French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The meeting will be held on Sunday in Algeria, and will be chaired by the Foreign Minister, Abdelkader Messahel, and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in the presence of Algeria Energy Minister, Youcef Yousfi and the Minister of Economy and Finance of the Government of Edward Philippe.

Talks between the two sides will focus on the economic partnership and the prospects for its expansion and diversification.

According to a statement by the Foreign Ministry, he talked about promising projects in the field of industrial cooperation and promotion of Algerian exports from the agricultural sector, in addition to other files, such as investment in other sectors, and the signing of agreements in this regard.

The meeting of the Algerian-French Committee constitutes an opportunity for the third session of the strategic dialogue between Algeria and Paris on the eve of the same day.

This meeting comes in a very special circumstance, that is characterized by many questions about the fate of President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Algeria, which was the center of messages that are exchanged between President Bouteflika and his French counterpart, since last spring, but has not yet settled on a specific date.

Second question, and the most prominent one, is related to the French position on one of the oldest conflicts in the Maghreb region and the entire African continent, namely, the Western Sahara issue, as France badly speaking whenever this issue is discussed or highlighted by various Saharaoui officials in some occasions.

A few days ago, the Western Sahara Foreign Minister, Mohamed El-Salem Ould Salek, attacked Algeria because of its constant and unconditional standing with the Mekhzen at the expense of the interests of the Saharaoui people.

He also said that the Prime Minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, received the President of the Western Sahara Republic, Ibrahim Ghali, on the eve of the speech of the Moroccan king, Mohamed VI, in which he rejected any solution to the Sahara issue outside his autonomy proposal, on the ruins of a UN resolution that gives Sahrawis the right to self-determination through a referendum.

Foreign Ministry’s statement said that the two countries’ delegations discussed issues of common concern, and based on that the Sahara issue will be at the top of the talks’ agenda.

The question here is, What will Jean-Yves Le Drian respond to Abdelkader Messahel, when he will ask him about his country’s position about the Moroccan king’s last speech?

There is no doubt that the French side will be in an enviable position if the Algerian side is serious about bringing up the French contradiction on the table and knows how to convey the message as it is, because Paris was talking about the arrival of bilateral relationships to a level that it did not reached before 2012, when the former French President, Francois Hollande, stood on the throne of the Elysee.

This description does not have an extension on the ground, because Paris knows how sensitive the Sahara issue is to Algeria, and yet insists on further insults against it.

The other question is related to the satellite that was launched by Morocco last week, and if the Algerian side does not express an official position in this regard because it does not change the reality of the misleading equation in favor of Algeria, according to the French newspaper Geopolis, compared to Spain, which shows dissatisfaction. However, this consideration will not prevent the raising of this file, because France used to support Morocco in this issue as in others, even if the financing is from the UAE, according to some sources.