Faced with the provocations of Algeria, France must end the submission. For months, the Algerian regime has multiplied insults to France. And it’s not a little verbal game, it’s a real offensive. First, these delusional accusations: France would lead “aggressive operations” to destabilize their country. Then, here they are attacking one of our greatest writers, Boualem Sansal, imprisoned for two months now for no reason. As if that were not enough, Algiers continues to wave his old scratched disc from the “memorial rent”, a refrain which is used to put pressure on Paris from the Evian agreements.
But the ultimate in provocation is this surreal episode with the influencer “Doualemn”. This man, arrested in France for prompting violence, was expelled to Algeria, his country of origin. And there, surprise: Algiers decides to send him back … in France. A real diplomatic arm of honor, a total contempt for the basic rules of international relations. It’s not just a slap, it is a test of our sovereignty. So what do we do? Do we continue to stretch the other cheek or we finally hit your fist on the table? It is high time that Paris ceases to be walking around and reminds Algiers that patience has limits.
This behavior obviously aroused strong reactions, notably the Minister of the Interior. Bruno Retailleau, faithful to himself, does not go there by four paths. For him, it is not only a provocation, it is a deliberate attempt to humiliate France. Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot, still hesitating on Monday by evoking his “doubts” on the intentions of Algeria, corrected the shot yesterday by declaring that France will have no other possibility than to retaliate “if Algiers continues this escalation.
Many levers
The Minister evokes levers. Take visas, for example: in 2023, France generously delivered 209,723 visas to Algerian nationals. And on the other side, how many consular pass validated by Algiers to allow expulsions? 470. It’s a shame.
And that’s not all. Why not hit where it hurts? Freeze the assets of the Algerian elites in France, block their bank accounts, their real estate. A common sense measure, supported by 72 % of French people. And what about immigration? 66 % of French people demand the immediate stop of all Algerian immigration.
And while we are there, why continue to pay more than 100 million euros in development aid to a diet that insults us with speeches every year? Why not review customs duties? As for life -to -life diplomatic passports distributed to Algerian hierarchs, it is time to end this aberration. In short, it’s time to reverse the roles.
Denounce the 1968 agreements
France could even go further, by denouncing the Franco-Algerian agreement of 1968, as Gabriel Attal suggested. Years that we expected. For years that specialists claim, that the RN denounces this agreement, that Bruno Retailleau castigates it. Too bad Gabriel Attal waited to leave Matignon to talk about it, because this Franco-Algerian agreement, a vestige of another time, must be abolished. He grants exorbitant privileges to Algerian nationals: an almost royal status to enter, circulate and settle in France. Unjustifiable. But Bruno Retailleau said, and he is right: it cannot depend only on him. This showdown, it is up to the government and the President of the Republic to fully assume it. The questioning of these agreements is not a small technical adjustment, it is a strong political act, a firmness act.
France must remind Algiers a simple thing: its patience is limited, and this limit has been reached. So stop half-measures. The time is no longer to be procrastinated, but to send a clear and firm signal: French interests are no longer negotiable. This firmness is a necessity. This is the only way to hope, one day, to redefine the basics of a healthy, balanced and sustainable relationship with Algeria. In the meantime, be careful of the table and affirm an undeniable truth: a break would cost Algeria and its citizens much more than in France and the French.
