The movement occurs after Algeria expelled the French diplomats, after the arrest of France of an Algerian consular official linked to an alleged abduction.
France says he will expel 12 members of the Algerian diplomatic and consular staff and recalled his Algiers ambassador, deepening a crisis that threatens to unveil months of reconciliation attempt between the two countries.
Tuesday’s ad comes one day after Algeria ordered it 12 French diplomats to leave within 48 hours.
Algiers announced the expulsions after French prosecutors accused three Algerian nationals, including a consular official, on the alleged abduction of a major government critic in Paris last year.
The activist, Amir Boukhors, better known by his more than a million Tiktok’s followers as « Amir Dz », was given asylum to France in 2023. He was abducted in a Paris suburb in April last year and was released the next day. French authorities said that the three suspects also face allegations of « terrorist » conspiracy.
Tense relationships
This is the first time that France has detained an employee of the Algerian consulate, marking a strong climb in tensions between Paris and the former French colony.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday that the expulsions were directly related to the arrests.
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said that the move from Algeria, if completed, would mark the first expulsion of the French diplomats from the country since its independence in 1962.
Algeria, who has issued nine international detention terms for charges, such as frauds and « terrorism », demands extradition.
Climbing occurs despite recent openings between the two countries. One week earlier, Barrot met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and stated that bilateral relations had returned to normal after a period of tensions.
The support of the President of the French President, Emmanuel Macron, of the Morocco Autonomy Plan for the Western Sahara region last year led to outrage in Algiers. The prison of the French-Algerian writer Boarem Sansal for an Algerian court last month only joined the strain with Macron who requested his release.
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