Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister, was a guest on “8h30 Franceinfo” on Monday, October 7. He returned to the particularly rotten relations between Algeria and France and this temptation of a certain French right to make Algeria the ideal culprit.
Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister, regretted on Monday, October 7, on Franceinfo “the temptation” in France “to make Algeria the scapegoat for a certain number of our problems”, notably “in terms of immigration”.
Diplomatic relations between Paris and Algiers are increasingly strained. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune recently ruled out going to France on television and accused France of genocide during the colonization: “Fortunately, for many months, if not years, we have seen the relationship with this great friendly brother country that is Algeria deteriorate day after day. From deterioration to deterioration, we come to accusations that go far beyond any reality.”
“There are other ways”
Paris’ support for Morocco’s autonomy plan on the Western Sahara issue has contributed to a new tension between the two countries. “We should have done all this within the framework of the United Nations and in liaison with Algeria,” believes the former diplomat.
Abdelmadjid Tebboune denounced those who want to call into question the 1968 agreements that grant Algerians a special status in terms of the right to travel, reside and work in France. It has “become a standard behind which the army of extremists marches” in France, declared the Algerian president. “The temptation today, here in France, is to make Algeria the scapegoat for a certain number of problems. And this is particularly true in terms of immigration. Algeria does not have to bear this and we have to find answers and solutions with the Algerians,” affirmed Dominique de Villepin.
Six years after the Evian Accords that defined the conditions for Algeria’s independence, the 1968 Accords allowed Algerians to obtain a special status in France. “Today, wanting to brandish the symbol of the 1968 Accord, which we all know is one of the consequences of the Evian Accords. Is this wanting to start a war with Algeria? A war of memories? All of this is absurd, there are other paths,” assures the former Prime Minister.
Today, we will resolve the issue of the immigration of Algerians detained in administrative detention centers and whom we want to send back home only in agreement with Algeria,” he explains, but “this implies dialogue, it implies respect and it implies the ability to assume this history which is shared and which is so important on both sides of the Mediterranean,” he adds.
It seems that with Sarah Knafo, the very right-wing Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau, and a whole host of ministers and other approximate figures of French politics, relations between Algiers and Paris are not about to be restored. If we add an Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algiers, devoid of any diplomatic or economic vision, we have all the ingredients to see the crisis last.
