Algeria on Saturday rejected French accusations of “escalation” and “humiliation” after the return to Paris of an Algerian influencer who had been deported to his country, denouncing a “disinformation campaign” against ‘Algiers.
Historically tumultuous, relations between Algeria and France, a former colonial power, have worsened in recent weeks, notably with the arrest of a Franco-Algerian writer in Algiers and Algerian influencers in France.
“Algeria is in no way engaged in a logic of escalation, one-upmanship or humiliation”the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release on Saturday.
“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”he added.
The ministry was reacting to the comments of two French ministers who had denounced the return by Algiers of an Algerian national whom France had expelled to his country.
No “other possibility than to retaliate”
Friday, Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau affirmed that “Algeria seeks to humiliate France”. “By keeping our cool […] We must now evaluate all the means at our disposal, vis-à-vis Algeria.”he added.
His colleague at Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, added by affirming that “France will have “no other option than to retaliate” and “the Algerians continue this posture of escalation”.
Among “the levers that we could activate” appear “the visas […]development aid”he declared on the LCI channel, saying to himself “amazed” that the Algerian authorities have “refused to take back one of their nationals”.
An “arbitrary and abusive” expulsion
“Doualemn”, a 59-year-old influencer, was arrested in Montpellier, in the south of France, after a contentious video on TikToK and put on a plane Thursday for Algeria from where he was returned to France in the evening even, Algeria having it “banned from territory”according to the French Ministry of the Interior.
The expulsion of “Doualemn” is “arbitrary and abusive”estimated the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.
He states that this man has lived in France for 36 years, has had a residence permit for 15 years, is the father of two children born from his marriage to a French woman and has had a stable job for 15 years.
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For the Algerian ministry, “all of this data undoubtedly confers on him rights that his hasty and questionable expulsion prevented him from asserting both before the French and European courts.”
He adds that the expulsion deprives him of a proper trial “which constitutes a bulwark against the abuse of power”.
Several Algerian influencers affected by procedures
Furthermore, Algiers accuses France of violating “the provisions of the Algerian-French Consular Convention” of 1974, emphasizing that it “did not consider it necessary to inform the Algerian party of the arrest, nor of the custody, nor of the detention, nor of the expulsion of the national in question.”
“The Algerian decision in this case is driven by the desire to enable him to respond to the accusations brought against him, to assert his rights and to defend himself within the framework of a fair and equitable judicial process on French territory”it is added.
Since the beginning of January, four other Algerian influencers have been involved in proceedings in France for hate speech.
Another subject of tension between the two countries, the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, 75, ill, has been imprisoned since mid-November in Algeria for endangering state security.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is calling for his release, judged in early January that Algeria was “dishonorable, to prevent a seriously ill man from seeking treatment.”
Algeria had described these remarks as“shameless and unacceptable interference in an internal Algerian matter”.
