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Rabat – French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he will leave Emmanuel Macron’s government if his country backs down from taking a firm stance against Algeria’s reluctance to accept the return of its nationals in France.
“As long as I am convinced I am being useful and I am given the means to do so, I will remain mobilized,” Retailleau told Le Parisien in an interview published on Saturday.
He warned, however, that he will leave the government if Algeria refuses to cooperate.
On Friday this week, France released a list of about 60 Algerian nationals that are subject to expulsion orders, local reports said.
Algeria has been refusing to receive these individuals, of which include the perpetrator of an attack that killed one person in Mulhouse in February.
Retailleu said in February that they had made multiple requests for the Algerian regime to cooperate for the security of the European country, but to no avail.
“French authorities made ten requests for consular passes to expel the attacker, an Algerian national, from Mulhouse,” he said in an official statement last month.
The situation has added further pressure on ties between Paris and Algiers. The two countries are already experiencing brewing tensions due to France’s newfound position recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
Retailleau is among multiple French officials who frequently made sharp criticism against Algeria’s regime.
“It’s time to change gears with Algeria…We need to establish a show of force,” the interior minister said in February, noting that his country has been “kind enough” with the North African country.
In response to Algeria’s reluctance, France took a series of punitive measures, including restricting the movement of several Algerian dignitaries to French territory. Last month, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot announced the measures, noting that his country is “ready to take further steps” if French-Algerian cooperation is not resumed.
