Algeria’s expulsion of 12 French consular staff has dealt a major blow to recent efforts at mending relations with France, marking the largest diplomatic fallout between the two nations since Algerian independence in 1962.
The move came in retaliation to the arrest of an Algerian consular official in France, charged—alongside two others—with involvement in the kidnapping of an opposition dissident near Paris last year. Algiers denounced the arrest as a “flagrant contravention” of diplomatic immunity and accused Paris of undermining a recent thaw in relations.
The Algerian state news agency APS suggested the arrest was a calculated act aimed at sabotaging a rapprochement agreed upon by Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdelmadjid Tebboune. A recent call between the two leaders and a visit to Algiers by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot had signaled warming ties.
However, the escalation appears to reflect deeper tensions, particularly with France’s right-wing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who Algiers sees as influencing hardline policies that conflict with Macron’s more balanced stance. Notably, several of the expelled diplomats are linked to France’s interior ministry.
Relations between the two countries have sharply deteriorated since Macron’s 2023 pivot toward Morocco. Trade, intelligence-sharing, and diplomatic ties have suffered, and both sides have exchanged accusations over immigration, deportations, and online anti-French sentiment.
The arrest and sentencing of 80-year-old Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal last November—despite hopes for a humanitarian release—has further strained ties.
With the latest diplomatic blow, any near-term reconciliation now seems unlikely.
