During his flash visit to Gao on Friday 19 May, during which he met with President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and French forces Barkhane, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s commitment in the fight against terrorism. But the French president has also urged the Malian president and Algeria, mediator in the Malian crisis, to accelerate the implementation of the peace agreement and to fully engage in the fight against terrorism. A declaration that could quite be interpreted as a first diplomatic awkwardness towards the Algerians.
Emmanuel Macron became a war chief at the beginning of his mandate. On a visit to Gao on Friday, May 19, Emmanuel Macron decided to put his feet in the dish. “I would have a stronger demand on the states of the Sahel and Algeria,” he said, before stressing that there can be no weakness either with regard to Terrorists groups , regardless of domestic political reasons “, without more precision. What does the French president want to insinuate? Does he point an accusing finger towards Algeria who nevertheless rejoiced at his election? It is clear that this comminatory statement suggests that relationships may be complicated if they are sown with murderous sentences.
Strange as it may seem, there was no official reaction to Emmanuel Macron’s statement. Yet the subject is of an exacerbated sensibility. “It is obvious that the French president has not explained well what it is, but it is thought that he wanted to talk about the leader of a terrorist group called Iyad Ag Ghali and the Algerian attitude not being very clear about this leader who would be somewhere between Mali and Algeria, although Algiers has openly condemned any terrorist action, the Algerian journalist explains. Certain sensitivity in Algeria because questioning its capacity or its way of fighting terrorism and its vision with regard to the question of the Sahel risks to cool, even partially, the relations between France and Algeria itself If there has not yet been an official reaction to these statements by President Macron. Mali’s case is considered a very sensitive issue for the Algerian diplomacy, handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Algerian President, ” I believe that these statements could be a partial blow to the relations between the two countries, “warns journalist Faisal Metaoui.
For the Malian columnist Adam Thiam, Emmanuel Macron, nevertheless had the courage to put things back flat by warning both Mali and Algeria about the terrorist risk.
“His messages were very clear and, in my opinion, courageous in some parts, so the truth is that he told Mali he warned of the spread of terrorist danger and the need for action Urgent and adequate, Adam Thiam said, and then to Algeria, which according to French analysts is the country that offers shelter and lodging to Iyad Ag Ghali. Macron wasn’t so crudely, but Between the lines, one feels his indignation, he said that it was out of the question for him to let the French soldiers be the turkeys of the farce and it is perhaps a turning point, because there are things that have to be said .This is the first time that a French head of state tells us: “I called Bouteflika , we talked. Algeria must play its full part in the peace process in northern Mali. “And that is the first time it has been said at such a high level.”
