The Franco-Algerian crisis reaches a new level with the summons of the French ambassador to Algiers

The decline continues, inexorably. A new level has just been reached in the deterioration of the Franco-Algerian relationship with the announcement, Sunday, December 15, by the daily El Moudjahidthe organ of power in Algiers, that the French ambassador to Algeria, Stéphane Romatet, had been summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which submitted a long list of grievances to him. Among these is the accusation, tried in Paris « abracadabrante » et “spooky”of a clandestine operation mounted by the services of the General Directorate of External Security (DGSE) aimed, according to the Algerian press, at “recruit” repentant Algerian terrorists with the aim of “destabilize” Algeria.

This summons of Mr. Romatet, which took place on Thursday December 12 – but was only made public on Sunday – against a backdrop of such serious accusations, illustrates the depth of the bilateral crisis opened by the pro-Moroccan turnaround in Paris on the Western Sahara issue.

On July 30, Emmanuel Macron sent a letter to King Mohammed VI informing him that France now recognized the “Moroccan sovereignty” on the former Spanish colony which has been disputed since 1976 by the Shereef kingdom and the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers. Three months later, Mr. Macron solemnly reiterated, during his state visit to Rabat at the end of October, this change of direction from Paris with serious regional strategic implications.

Thursday, December 12, in Algiers, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs therefore outlined to Mr. Romatet the various attacks on “Algerian sovereignty” committed, according to him, by France. The latter is accused, in addition to the alleged plot by the DGSE aimed at “destabilize” the country, the “climate of hatred” maintained against Algeria in the French media, the role of the French embassy in Algiers which receives people ” known for their hostility to the government “, etc. According to a French source, the Algerian official demanded from Mr. Romatet that these hostile actions “cease” under penalty of forcing Algeria to “retaliate”. The veiled threat was confirmed by El Moudjahid. “Resolved to preserve its dignity, Algeria will take all necessary measures to confront these attempts at interference”writes the official daily.

Cascading incidents

Already weakened by the summer’s rebalancing of its diplomacy in the Maghreb towards Morocco – until then rather marked by Mr. Macron’s pro-Algerian tropism – the relationship between Paris and Algiers deteriorated in November at the rate of cascading incidents. Thus the controversies surrounding the Goncourt prize awarded to the novelist Kamel Daoud for his work Houris – the subject of a virulent smear campaign in Algeria – then the arrest of a Franco-Algerian writer, Boualem Sansal, on November 16, for his comments made on the border between Algeria and Morocco, according to the Algerian justice, of a “attack on the integrity of the national territory”.

What could be the « riposte » of which Algiers threatens France? Trade sanctions have already been taken. On November 6, a meeting was convened at the headquarters of the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABEF), in Algiers, during which oral instructions were given to managers of Algerian public and foreign private banks – including some French companies – to no longer process the domiciliation of imports and exports from and to France. The same procedure was triggered in March 2022 against Spain to make it pay for its change of position on Western Sahara – again this sensitive issue – going against the traditional, rather pro-Saharawi principles of Madrid.

The measure was, however, quickly canceled in the case of France due to its potentially negative impact on the entire Algerian economy. Indeed, the retaliation would have hampered not only the strictly Franco-Algerian trade flow – much higher than the Algerian-Spanish trade – but also the significant part of Algeria’s foreign trade which transits through the port of Marseille. Therefore, the Algerian authorities, rather than taking this indiscriminate, counterproductive measure, preferred to operate on a case-by-case basis, targeting the interests of a particular French company by imposing customs, tax and regulatory obstacles.

“The climate is becoming more and more heavy”

How far will this outbreak of animosity between the two capitals, the most serious in twenty years, go? “ So far, Paris has not reacted, which frustrates the Algerians who are looking for a pretext to justify their escalation, underlines a French source. But the climate is becoming increasingly difficult and it is clear that the conditions for restoring confidence are becoming complicated. »

If we base ourselves on the cycle of recent bilateral crises, the sequences of hostility have been quite short. In September 2021, the crisis opened by Mr. Macron’s comments on “the political-military system” Algerian built on “hatred of France” only lasted three months. In February 2023, the new convulsion caused by the Amira Bouraoui affair – an Algerian opponent holding a French passport, protected at the last minute from extradition from Tunis to Algiers by French diplomacy – had also dissipated , after a quarter. This time, however, the crisis seems much deeper and therefore lasting.