Rabat – French President Emmanuel Macron expressed optimism today over the anticipated release of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is serving a five-year prison sentence in Algeria.
Sansal’s case is under “special attention” by Algerian authorities, Macron commended during a visit to the Paris Book Festival, adding that the evolution of the case makes him confident that the writer would soon be released.
“I am confident because I know that there is particular attention. I am simply waiting for the results,” Macron said.
He further noted, “Our strongest wish is for the Algerian authorities to make the decision that will allow him to regain his freedom, receive treatment, and return to writing.”
Macron made the remarks following a visit to the Morocco stand, this year’s guest of honor at the festival.
Sansal, who was sentenced on March 27 for “undermining the integrity of the territory,” has been incarcerated since mid-November 2024.
His politically motivated arrest and sentencing have been described as punishment for comments he made to the far-right French outlet Frontières. Sansal had suggested in the interview that Algeria had inherited territories from Morocco during French colonization.
He has appealed the court’s sentence, considering his case as unduly politicized and inadequately tried.
Tensions between Algeria and France have been fraught since July 2024, when Macron voiced his support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara.
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Algeria supports the Polisario Front, a separatist group claiming independence in the Western Sahara region in southern Morocco.
The arrest of Sansal added to the Algiers-Paris strain, as did Algeria’s refusal, early in 2025, to accept Algerian influencers deported from France.
In January, French President Emmanuel Macron ballistically criticized Algeria for imprisoning Sansal, denouncing the move as a “disgrace.” Speaking before French ambassadors at the Élysée, Macron accused the Algerian authorities of denying the gravely ill author access to medical care.
“Algeria dishonors itself by preventing a gravely ill man from receiving proper care,” Macron stated.
But recent efforts have aimed at easing the friction, including a phone call on March 31 between Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, which marked the beginning of renewed diplomatic dialogue.
Still, it remains to be seen when and whether Algeria will indeed release Sansal in the coming days as part of ongoing efforts to ease tensions with France.
