the essential
Following the arrests of three Franco-Algerian influencers, Toulouse association leaders fear new amalgamations which would cause trouble for the vast majority of an Algerian diaspora who only wants to live in peace.
“The vast majority of the Franco-Algerian population in France finds itself caught in a vice. We are French citizens and we maintain an attachment to our country of origin, but living in France we must respect the laws of this country,” tirelessly insists Mohamed Hamami.
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France-Algeria: influencers arrested, writer detained… why are relations between the two countries so tense?
Whether on the sports fields, in the Bagatelle district, in Toulouse, as president of the football club, or in his role as elected official in the Occitanie region (socialist group and citizens of Occitanie), this Franco -56-year-old Algerian advocates, on a daily basis, the values of peace and respect. The affair of Franco-Algerian influencers spreading hateful remarks against any opponent of President Tebboune’s regime does not leave the Algerian diaspora indifferent.
“It is normal that these people be held accountable”
In Toulouse, as elsewhere, people say they are worried following these affairs, “but we must not stir up tensions between France and Algeria”, believes the regional elected official. “Why do we, at 59 years old, need to spread this type of threatening messages? When we do not respect the laws of the French Republic, it is normal that these people be held accountable,” he said, regarding the expulsion, in Algeria, of Doualemn, the influencer from Montpellier, holder of a residence permit, arrested and expelled to Algeria, his country of origin which sent him back to France.
A round trip, symbol of an open diplomatic crisis between the two countries which has as its origin, according to the Algerians of France, the position taken by President Macron in favor of Morocco in the conflict which opposes it with its neighbor on the subject of Western Sahara. Highly flammable subject in Algeria which has always claimed this territory.
“Education and respect”
“The arrest of Boualem Sansal did not help matters, but I remain convinced that this arrest hides something else and that we are not being told everything about the underlying facts of this affair.” According to him, younger generations connected on social networks must not fall into the trap of these discourses. “Today, we see many young people arriving in the neighborhoods, without papers, whose only concern is no longer to respect the rules and laws of the country which welcomes them, but to live on its back, considering France as an El Dorado. Education, respect, tolerance, are the basis of everything. These influencer affairs are dangerous because in the end it is the dual nationals who have the toast and we must not make any confusion.
A feeling shared by another actor in community life, Mohamed Assi, vice-president of the association of anti-racist footballers. An activist and company manager who travels the football fields between France and Algeria. “We must not use the words of these influencers, which only concern them, to rekindle old resentments on both sides of the Mediterranean.” “The legacy of the far right in France has generated an anti-Algerian climate that we want to bring back to normal by preserving relations between the people of these two countries,” he said.
As with terrorist crimes committed, allegedly, in the name of religion, dual nationals do not want to be confused with an unrepresentative violent minority. “Instead of healing the wounds of the past, and healing the scars, these people, who call themselves influencers on the internet, must not come to disrupt the work of reconciliation.”
