Algeria plans to return its Ambassador to France

After a chill that has overshadowed relations between the two countries since the fall of 2021, Paris and Algeria began to improve these relations on the occasion of the visit of French President, Emmanuel Macron, to Algeria last August. Then, he signed.

Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, announced in a television interview that the Algerian Ambassador to France, who was recalled in early February after a dispute between the two countries over a French-Algerian activist, will return soon to Paris.

Algeria summoned its Ambassador in protest against what it considered a secret evacuation operation carried out with the help of French diplomats and security, after the French-Algerian activist, Amira Bouraoui, managed to head to France from Tunisia, who was planning to deport her to Algeria.

Referring to the dispute in this regard, Tebboune said in an interview with Al Jazeera that “our relationship with France is fluctuating”.

“The Algerian ambassador will soon return to Paris,“ he added, according to the official Algerian Press Agency, quoted from the interview.

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After a chill that has overshadowed relations between the two countries since the fall of 2021, Paris and Algeria began to improve these relations on the occasion of the visit of French President, Emmanuel Macron, to Algeria last August. At that time, the two heads of State signed a joint declaration on the resumption of bilateral cooperation.

On 20 February, the Algerian Prosecutor’s office announced the placement of four people in pre-trial detention and a fifth person under judicial supervision as part of an investigation into the “illegal” exit of Algerian activist, Amira Bouraoui, from Algeria.

Bouraoui is a French-Algerian who became known, especially in 2014, during her participation in the Barakat movement against the candidacy of the late President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, for a fourth term, and then became involved in the popular movement.

In June 2020, Bouraoui, originally a 46-year-old doctor, was sentenced to one year in prison, but benefited from parole in July.

During the same interview regarding relations with Morocco, Tebboune expressed regret that “the relationship between the two neighboring countries has reached such a level”.

He stressed that his country’s position is a reaction to supposed actions by Morocco, considering that relations have reached a “point of no return”،

Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco in August 2021 due to deep disagreements, especially over the issue of Western Sahara and the rapprochement between Rabat and Israel.

The issue of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that the United Nations considers a “non-independent region”, has pitted Morocco against the separatists of the Algerian-backed Polisario Front for decades.

The Spanish government, headed by the Socialist, Pedro Sanchez, decided in March 2022 to support Morocco’s proposal to grant Western Sahara autonomy under its sovereignty.

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In response to this change in Madrid’s traditionally neutral position, the Algerian authorities suspended a cooperation treaty with Spain in early June 2022.

“The position of the Spanish government on the Western Sahara is an individual position (issued) by the Sanchez government,“ Tebboune said in the interview.

Tebboune pointed out that trade exchanges between Algeria and Spain “are ongoing and most of them are carried out through the private sector of the two countries”.

On the other hand, Tebboune considered that Tunisia, which is facing serious political and financial crises, is “exposed to a conspiracy”, adding that “Algeria was on its side even if it displeased some”.