France’s Macron calls for calm with Algeria

French President Emmanuel Macron today called on Algeria to calm down and resume diplomatic cooperation with Paris.

Macron said in statements that he hoped the diplomatic tension with Algeria would end soon, adding: “We hope that we can calm things down because I think it is better that we talk to each other and make progress.”

In statements to France Inter radio, the president said that he had “very friendly” relations with the Algerian president.

On Saturday, Algeria decided to immediately recall its ambassador to Paris for consultations, in response to Macron’s statements reported by Le Monde newspaper, in which the French president considered that Algeria was established only after its independence in 1962. “Was there an Algerian nation before French colonisation? That is the question,” he said.

On Sunday, French military sources confirmed that Algeria had prevented French military planes from flying over its territory in response to Macron’s statements.

READ: Algeria condemns French president’s remarks on colonial past