Since Paris sided with Morocco on the Saharawi issue, Algiers has delivered blow after blow. The two countries are in the grip of a diplomatic escalation where invectives and influencers are used like weapons. Further damaging France’s position on the African continent.
Tensions between France and Algeria reached a new peak this weekend, following the failed expulsion of an Algerian influencer from French territory. Arrested by the French authorities for having called for an attack on an opponent of the Algerian regime, the 59-year-old individual, whose pseudonym is Doualemn, was deported by plane to Algiers. But when he got there, the authorities refused to allow him to disembark. Paris therefore had to return with the man to France. A new humiliation in the diplomatic crisis which has opposed the two countries since this summer, when Paris decided to support the autonomy plan defended by Morocco vis-à-vis Western Sahara.
Upon returning from Doualemn to French territory on Friday, the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, declared that “we must now evaluate all the means at our disposal, vis-à-vis Algeria.” France will have “no other option than to retaliate” if “the Algerians continue this escalating posture”. Comments rejected on Saturday by Algiers which denies wanting “escalation” or seeking the “humiliation” of France. “Algeria is, in no way, engaged in a logic of escalation, one-upmanship or humiliation,” defended the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The vengeful and hateful extreme right, as well as its certified heralds within the French government, are currently leading a campaign of disinformation, even mystification, against Algeria.”
France
