Rabat — Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has announced France is summoning Algeria’s charge d’affaires in Paris to denounce the North African country’s “unjustified” decision to expel French officials.
The minister announced today that France informed the Algerian diplomat that it would retaliate by expelling Algerian diplomats.
He told BFMTV that France’s response is “immediate, firm, and strictly proportionate at this stage,” announcing the same demand that is the “return to Algeria of all agents holding diplomatic passports who currently do not have a visa.”
The French foreign ministry summoned the Algerian diplomat on Tuesday, informing him that the country “reserves the right to take further measures depending on how the situation evolves,” Barrot detailed.
“The Algerians wanted to expel our agents. We are expelling theirs,” he added.
On Sunday, Algeria summoned the charge d’affaires of the French embassy in Algiers, informing him of the new expulsions of French officials who were on temporary reinforcement missions.
This marks a new episode in the rising diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The French foreign ministry described the series of expulsions that have been going on for the past few months as a “unilateral decision by the Algerian authorities to establish new entry conditions for French public agents holding official, diplomatic, or service passports, in violation of the 2013 bilateral agreement.”
Minister Barrot protested Algeria’s move, noting that similar actions are against the agreements governing ties between the two countries.
“They are clearly not in the interest of France, but also not in the interest of the Algerians,” he said.
The two countries have been experiencing brewing tensions, with Algeria frequently escalating the crisis with similar expulsion acts.
The crisis between the two countries is the result of several factors, including France’s historic recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
France announced its support for Morocco’s territorial integrity in July. Shortly after, Algeria recalled its ambassador, protesting the French sovereign move.
In February, Algeria also took an escalated decision to cut ties with the French Senate. The decision came days after France’s Senate president, Gerard Larcher, visited Morocco, especially its southern provinces in Laayoune and Dakhla.
During his trip, he recalled President Emmanuel Macron’s speech at the Moroccan Parliament in which he renewed France’s determination to continue supporting Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces.
