Algeria, France end diplomatic crisis, agree to increase cooperation

Algeria and France have ended their diplomatic crisis and agreed to “reinforce mutual cooperation,” news agencies reported on Friday. This came following a phone call between the presidents of both countries.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to reinforce contact between the two countries: “In order to avoid facing misunderstandings,” the French presidency announced.

“Our relationship with France is fluctuating,” Tebboune told Al Jazeera on Tuesday. “The Algerian ambassador will soon be back in Paris.”

The diplomatic crisis started when Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui fled the country heading to Tunisia and then to France.

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Bouraoui became known in 2014 for her protest against the fourth term of then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, then became involved in the Hirak protest movement.

Bouraoui was detained and sentenced in June 2020 to one year in prison before being granted provisional release in July of the same year.

This year, with the help of French officials, she left Algeria for Tunisia and was held on 3 February while heading to board a Paris-bound flight. On 6 February, the activist was assisted in taking a flight to Paris.

Algeria ruled that her travel to France constituted an “illegal exfiltration” carried out with the help of French diplomatic and security personnel and recalled its Ambassador to Paris Saïd Moussi for consultations.

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