End of the diplomatic quarrel between Algiers and Paris. The visit of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, December 8 to Algeria allowed relations between the two countries to warm up, after more than two months of freezing cold.
The crisis was triggered by the controversial remarks made on September 30 by President Emmanuel Macron, with regard to Algeria. These remarks were followed by a firm reaction from Algiers which, on October 2, recalled its ambassador to Paris and closed its airspace to French planes which joined northern Mali as part of Operation Barkhane.
After two cold months, the head of French diplomacy went to Algiers where he announced, in particular, the resumption of operational political dialogue between the two countries on two major issues: the movement of people and immigration as well as the fight against terrorism in the Sahel and the Libyan crisis.
The visit Le Drian was itself a sign of the beginning of the thaw between the two countries.
Its first direct consequence was the endorsement given by the French authorities to the appointment of nine new Algerian consuls in France.
The consuls concerned are those of Besançon, Saint-Étienne, Paris, Toulouse, Créteil, Pantoise, Bobigny, Nice and Montpellier. These diplomats were replaced as part of a move previously announced by the Algerian authorities.
A tenth consul, that of Rouen, is awaiting the approval of the French authorities because it is a new consulate, therefore obeying a particular procedure.
The next step in the return to normal is logically the return of the Algerian ambassador to his post. An imminent return, we learn from good sources. Mohamed Antar Daoud should join Paris this Thursday 23 December or tomorrow, Friday 24.
“Positive messages”
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune conditioned the return of the Algerian ambassador to Paris by “total respect for the Algerian state”. Then, he refused to be the one who will take “the first step”, before admitting on November 25 that “these relations have to return to normal”.
On November 9, an adviser to the French president said that Mr. Macron “regrets the controversies” and “misunderstandings” generated by the “reported comments” and that he has “the greatest respect for the Algerian nation, for its history. and for the sovereignty of Algeria”.
In reaction, Algerian diplomacy found for the first time the words emanating from the French presidency “reasonable” and “respectful”. On November 19, Jean-Yves Le Drian offered Algeria an “ambitious partnership” for a “trusting relationship”.
“President Macron sent positive messages for the resumption of the relationship, which was well interpreted in Algiers,” adds our source.
