For years now, several African countries in West Africa have pushed back on France’s influence including Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, former French colonies.
However, admist this debacle is France’s diplomatic squabble with North Africa’s Algeria.
Earlier in the month, France’s top diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot, expressed doubt on the likelihood of repaired diplomatic relations between Algiers and Paris, indicating that the bilateral ties may worsen further in the near future.
“We wish to maintain the best relations with Algeria, but that is not the case today,” he said in an interview.
Last year in August, months after Paris had acknowledged a contentious Moroccan proposal to provide Western Sahara some degree of autonomy under its authority, Algeria withdrew its ambassador from France.
In December, Algeria accused French intelligence agencies of organizing “destabilizing activities” in the nation.
To illustrate the gravity of the claims, the Algerian foreign ministry summoned the French ambassador to Algeria, Stephane Romatet, as reported by Morocco World News.
In the same month, the president of Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune, spoke strongly against the lingering effects of France’s colonial rule.
Recently, pro-regime Algerian influencers were detained by French police on suspicion of urging violence against Algerian dissidents.
The influencers arrested include: Youssef Zazou, Nouman Boualem, and Imad Obi, known as ‘Imad Tintin.
Similarly, Algerian authourities detained Boualem Sansal, a French-Algerian writer, in Algiers, an act that was condemned by France’s President Emmanuel Macron.
In response to Macron’s sentiments, the Algerian Foreign Ministry stated that the French President’s remarks regarding the imprisonment of Boualem Sansal constituted interference in Algeria’s internal affairs.
The day before, Macron asked Algeria to release the writer, alleging that the African country was “dishonoring” itself by denying him his liberty.
“The Algerian Government has taken notice, with much astonishment, of the words of the French President with regard to Algeria.
These words can only be forsaken, rejected, and condemned for what they are, interference brazen and unacceptable in a domestic case in Algeria,” the Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Algeria’s fall out with France
This was a devastating setback to Algeria’s Polisario Front, which claims the Western Sahara region as an independent state. Algeria.
In an open letter to King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Emmanuel Macron stated that the “only basis” for settling the dispute was Morocco’s 2007 proposal to grant Western Sahara a limited autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
This highlights France’s recent position on the conflict for regional authority.
In retrospect, France has agreed to Morocco’s autonomy proposal for the disputed Western Sahara, reversing a decision that had been made for decades and joining a growing number of nations that back Morocco to strengthen bilateral commerce, including the United States, Israel, and Spain.
What Algeria’s president said in his speech last month
Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the president of Algeria, delivered a stern condemnation of France on Sunday for the legacy of its colonial reign in Algeria.
According to an Anadolu journalist, this occurred during a speech he gave to the country in front of both houses of parliament, outlining his goals for his second term, which started in September, and highlighting the accomplishments of his first, which lasted from 2019 to 2024.
“We are pursuing the dignity of our ancestors,” he said.
“The number of Algerian martyrs throughout the 132 years of colonization is 5.6 million, and no amount of money can compensate for the loss of even one martyr during the resistance or armed struggle,” he added.
The Algerian president highlighted France’s possession of 500 skulls of Algerians who were beheaded in the 19th century and sent to Paris.
“We have only managed to recover 24 skulls so far,” he noted.
