Commercial relations between France and Algeria have been particularly confused in recent days. It all started on Wednesday November 6. That day, in front of their usual bankers, salespeople from companies based in Algeria with links to France were rejected. They are assured that commercial operations to and from France have been frozen. But surprisingly, no written note attesting to this decision was presented to them. The bankers simply indicate that operations were suspended on oral instructions from Abef, the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions.
For many, this freeze is linked to France's position in the Western Sahara issue. Visiting Morocco at the end of October, President Emmanuel Macron reiterated Paris' support for the Moroccan autonomy plan in this territory that the UN considers non-autonomous.
Denial from the Algerian authorities
This decision to suspend commercial relations caused a wave of panic among French and Algerian companies. France is one of Algeria's leading trading partners. “ It was a total surprise! We do not even know the scope of this freeze: are gas exports affected, for example? “, asks a member of the Algerian-French chamber of commerce who was waiting for a written note to “see more clearly”.
Thursday, November 7, a laconic press release from the Algerian Prime Minister's office came to calm this storm. He denounces “Totally erroneous and unfounded information” hawked by “the former French ambassador to Algiers” Xavier Driencourt moved by a “ customary delirium towards Algeria ». However, according to the heads of several banks, this verbal instruction from Abef did indeed exist. Its general delegate has since been sacked.
Businesses remain cautious
On the French side, the authorities, through the voice of the spokesperson for the Quai d'Orsay, assured, Thursday, November 7, that such retaliatory measures had not been taken “officially” to their knowledge. “We are not going to react, especially since there is nothing official,” precise to The Cross a diplomatic source.
Despite the press release from the Algerian government, caution remains on the side of companies which have not forgotten the precedent with Spain. In June 2022, Abef sent an instruction to banks asking them to freeze all commercial activity with Madrid, again in reaction to the support expressed by the Spaniards for the Moroccan autonomy plan in Western Sahara. And there too, the Algerian government denied it but that did not prevent it from making the decision effective; the restrictions, lifted definitively on October 6, 2024, will have lasted more than two years.
