Algeria Refuses Second French-Expelled Man, Worsens Relations with Paris

Algeria, once again, refused to accept the return of a deported Algerian national, who was arrested in France’s city of Nice for domestic violence.

Rabat – Algeria, once again, refused to accept the return of a deported Algerian national, who was arrested in France’s city of Nice for domestic violence.

This incident comes just weeks after a similar rejection in January involving social media influencer Doualemn.

According to sources close to the matter and cited by French media outlet Cnews, Algerian authorities rejected the individual’s identity documents without providing any explanation.

The man is subject to an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF) order and has been detained in the Alpes-Maritimes region.

Last month, Algeria also refused to accept the return of an expelled Algerian social media influencer, who was arrested by the French authorities for sharing a video inciting hatred, and violence and calling for the killing of an Algerian dissident living in France.

The deportation was part of a larger campaign by the French Ministry of Interior cracking down on all Algerian influencers, which has led to many arrests. Algerian influencers.

Algiers and Paris’s relations have been on shaky ground for quite some time, but took a turn for the worse when France officially recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in the Western Sahara in July 2024.

Algeria’s detention of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal since mid-November intensified tensions between the two countries, with French President Emmanuel Macron recently criticizing Algeria’s treatment of the writer.

“Algeria, which we love so much… is entering a history that dishonors it by preventing a seriously ill man from receiving treatment” Macron recently said in an address at the Élysée

As a punitive measure for this reckless behavior, the French officials called for visa restrictions for Algerian officials and a potential freeze of development aid, to curb Algeria’s provocations.

This second refusal this year of a French-deported man is not unusual in Algeria’s tactics to pressure countries whose political stances contradict Algiers’ interests.