Rabat – Ex-French Ambassador to Algeria Xavier Driencourt published an article in French newspaper Le Figaro criticizing Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s rule and warning of the country’s “collapse.”
In the article, titled “Algeria collapses: will it drag France down with it?,” Driencourt criticizes the perception that Algeria had become a “progressive, stable, and democratic” country after the 2020 protests that resulted in the fall of the Bouteflika regime.
“But all objective observers maintain that since 2020, after maybe some weeks of hope, the regime has shown its true face: one of a brutal military system (formed, as we often forget on ex-USSR methods) lurking in the shadow of a civil authority…,” the diplomat said.
Driencourt also criticized Algeria’s silencing of its press, calling back to outlets such as AlgeriePart which has been accused by the regime of being paid by foreign funds, and the arrest of journalist Ihsane el-Kadi on December 24.
The diplomat argued that France’s “blindness” to the inner workings of Algeria, especially the Algerian regime’s “anti-French rhetoric,” a historic mistake.
While he praised French president Emmanuel Macron’s initial hardline response to Algeria, Driencourt criticized the president’s eventual warming up to the North African country, after he and French ministers visited Algiers in official visits in 2022.
The author warned that while 2023 could be a good year for Algerian-French ties, he predicted the return of what he called “anti-French discourse” before the 2024 election, describing it as the key to winning an Algerian electoral campaign.
Macron visited Algeria in August 2022, saying he aimed to “deepen bilateral relationships turned towards a beneficial future for both populations, strengthen Franco-Algerian cooperation about regional stakes, and pursue the work of addressing the past.”
In December, the European country’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced the return to a “normal consular relationship” with Algeria, as France seemed to attempt to mend relations with its allies in North Africa.
Driencourt was France’s ambassador in Algiers from 2008 to 2012, and 2017 to 2020.
