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Rabat — Algeria has once again threatened to suspend trade relations with France, following renewed tensions over the Western Sahara dispute.
A new report from Le Figaro on Wednesday said that the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (Abef) informed local banks that import and export operations to and from France will no longer be processed.
If confirmed, this could lead to a full suspension of trade relations between the two nations, escalating an already fragile diplomatic situation between Paris and Algiers.
The alleged warning comes after French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s support for Morocco’s territorial integrity during a state visit to Morocco.
Macron stated that France considers the present and future of Western Sahara to be within Morocco’s sovereignty, and stressed that his country’s position is not hostile to any party.
This statement aligns with France’s ongoing diplomatic position, which the European country announced in July.
This is not the first time Algeria’s regime made similar threats against France.
Following France’s decision regarding Western Sahara, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf announced that his country would take further measures against the European country.
“This is not a recall of the ambassador for consultation. It is a reduction in diplomatic representation. It is a significant step to express our condemnation and disapproval,” Attaf said at a press conference in August.
The withdrawal of the Algerian ambassador was the first step that would be followed by other actions, Attaf said, adding that “the French decision does not serve the peaceful resolution of the Western Sahara issue” and “contradicts the diplomatic efforts of the UN and some international actors.”
The second threat came in October after Reuters reported that the Algerian government had instructed all the firms bidding for the wheat import tender against offering French origin wheat.
Algeria’s Interprofessional Office of Cereals, however, claimed that its decision to exclude French firms from a recent wheat import tender was not a political one.
“Regarding the restricted consultation … we clarify that it was governed by specific technical criteria, based on particular industrial needs at that time,” the office said, noting that all grain suppliers on its shortlist are considered “strategic partners.”
“Regardless of the product’s origin, they are treated fairly in all consultations launched during the year 2024,” the office added.
Algeria’s regime has a history of taking retributive action against countries that publicly support Morocco’s position on Western Sahara.
In 2022, Algeria – which supports the Polisario Front — recalled its ambassador to Madrid and terminated a 20 year old friendship treaty with the European country in protest of Spain’s endorsement of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan.
On Wednesday, King Mohammed VI addressed Algeria’s regime hostility during his speech commemorating the 49th Green March anniversary.
The monarch did not mention Algeria by name directly, but highlighted their refusal to conduct a census in the Tindouf camps as well as their obsession with attempting to undermine Morocco’s territorial integrity.
The King suggested that clinging to an independence referendum amounts to being stuck in another “world clearly disconnected from reality.” Algeria, the King argued, is “clinging to outdated theories and claims.”
“As a result, there are some who demand a referendum, despite that option being discarded by the United Nations and the impossibility of implementing it,” the monarch said, arguing that this actor is doing so to deflect attention from their internal problems.
