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Algeria’s Tebboune on claims of French aid: ‘We need no one but God’

January 21, 2025 at 9:19 am

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in Algiers, the capital of Algeria on September 17, 2024 [Algerian Presidency/Handout /Anadolu via Getty Images]

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed surprise after reports circulated in French political and media circles alleging that Algeria receives financial aid and assistance from France, with threats of their suspension. Tebboune dismissed the claims, describing them as “ignorance about Algeria.”

Speaking during the opening of the National Cinema Sessions, President Tebboune affirmed that “Algeria needs no one but God Almighty and its people.”

He added: “We embrace and cherish our friends, but those who choose hostility, that is their concern.”

Tebboune highlighted that such statements reflect a lack of understanding of Algeria and rejected the notion that France provides any financial assistance to his country.

The president’s remarks were a response to recent statements by French officials who had threatened to cut what they claim to be development aid for Algeria. The French far-right alleged that this aid amounts to €800 million ($830 million). However, these claims were debunked even by some French media outlets who investigated the matter.

The Algerian Press Service also denied the existence of any French aid.

It labelled the allegations as an attempt to pressure Algeria, particularly by the French far-right.

The agency clarified that economic relations between the two nations are primarily characterised by French exports to Algeria, which reached $3.2 billion in 2023, and French investments amounting to $2.5 billion. This figure, it noted, is modest compared to investments by countries such as Turkiye, the United States and Qatar.

READ: Algeria halts trade with France over Western Sahara stance