The arrest of an Algerian consular agent on the public highway in Paris by the French police, on the orders of Retailleau, caused a shock wave in the diplomatic and political circles of the two banks of the Mediterranean. This gesture, described as a “unacceptable judicial channel” by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, occurs at a particularly delicate moment, only a few days after the visit of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs in Algiers, which aimed to revive dialogue between the two presidents, Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Emmanuel Macron. The arrest, deemed “suspect in its timing” by several observers, intervened within the framework of an investigation linked to an alleged kidnapping of the controversial Algerian influencer Amir Boukhors, known on the networks under the pseudonym of Advirdz.
In an official press release, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed its farm protest with the French ambassador, Stéphane Romatet. The secretary general of the ministry, Lounes Magramane, summoned it to denounce clear violations of international law and diplomatic conventions. According to this press release, the consular agent was arrested in the street, without prior notification via diplomatic channels, then placed in police custody, in total contradiction with the privileges and immunities from which he benefits. Algeria considers these actions as a direct attack on its sovereignty and its official representatives on foreign soil.
The bottom of the accusation is based, according to the Algerian press release, on a element deemed “fragile”: the diplomat’s phone would have limited near the home of Amir Boukhors. Such a data, easily legally questionable, constitutes the main axis of legal proceedings that the Algerian authorities describe as “inconsistent”, even “far -fetched”. The media The expression, in an article titled a saboteur named Retailleau, even evokes a premeditated political operation orchestrated by the French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau. The latter is accused by the expression of wanting to feed the conflict to serve his own personal ambitions, in particular his candidacy for the congress of his party, the Republicans, scheduled for May 18. The Algerian media does not hesitate to describe the re -sealing of “putschist at the soul”, claiming that he uses French republican institutions to carry out a political and diplomatic sabotage operation, and this, in defiance of the laws of his own country.
French diplomacy is trying to keep its distance. Questioned by AFP, French Minister Jean-Noël Barrot was satisfied with an evasive response: “We are not how to investigate in progress”. A formula that speaks volumes about the discomfort caused internally. The Quai d’Orsay, visibly embarrassed by the turn of the events, returned the ball to the judicial authority, insisting on its independence. A way of clearing yourself, while letting justice manage the explosive file.
On the Algerian side, exasperation is palpable. The ministry’s press release insists on the non -fortuitous nature of this incident, stressing that it occurs precisely when the two heads of state strive to relaunch a dialogue undermined by decades of tension, misunderstandings and unresolved sensitive business. “This new unacceptable and unspeakable development will cause great damage to Algerian-French relations”, can be read. Algeria also mentions a cynical choice of the French authorities, who seem to grant excessive credit to an individual with a controversial past, to the detriment of the basic rules of diplomacy. Amir Boukhors, presented in the press release as a “thug”, “energumen” or “subversive activist linked to terrorist organizations”, would have been knowingly chosen to serve as a pretext for a premeditated action for destabilization.
This legal coup constitutes a first in relations between Paris and Algiers. Never, so far, an Algerian consular agent has been arrested so brutally, nor subject to pre -trial detention in such conditions. Algeria requires its immediate release and the guarantee that its diplomatic rights will be respected in accordance with international agreements. It also promises to draw all the consequences of this case, and does not exclude repercussions on bilateral relations.
The Retailleau affair could therefore mark a turning point. By attacking a foreign diplomat protected by the Vienna Convention, France gives the image of a divided state, where internal rivalries now influence the main orientations of its foreign policy. For Algeria, this situation is not only unacceptable, it is dangerous. Because it shows that some French officials are not animated by the same desire for sincere rapprochement. On the contrary, they seem ready to sabotage any progress, even if it means paying the diplomatic price.
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