After a quarrel of a few weeks following the remarks of the French head of state last September on Algerian political power, diplomatic relations between Algeria and France are beginning to return to their normal course. Signs of rapprochement have multiplied in recent days between Algiers and Paris, as confirmed by the head of Algerian diplomacy Ramtane Lamamra this Friday, February 5.
In an interview granted to France 24 and RFI, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ramtane Lamamra, affirmed that relations between Algeria and France, which experienced a severe cold snap last September, are today “in an upward phase” while affirming that the Algerian head of state Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the French president Emmanuel Macron have an “excellent personal relationship”.
On relations between Algiers and Paris
“They call each other. Sometimes it is announced, like the January 25 communication. Sometimes not. Communication between the two Heads of State exists, it is cordial, confident, but it is not enough to hide the existence of problems,” says Ramtane Lamamra.
“We are now in an ascending phase, laboriously ascending since there are a large number of difficulties in this bilateral relationship “, he adds, specifying that these difficulties exist ” particularly when it comes to which concerns us, the protection and preservation of the safety and dignity of our compatriots on French territory. This is a subject to which we are particularly sensitive”.
Ramtane Lamamra on the Oran massacre
On the July 5 massacre in Oran, which the French president called on Algeria to face up to, and therefore acknowledge, Ramtane Lamamra says history should be left to historians. Likewise, the Algerian diplomat calls for this to be done in “serenity and that this appropriation by each people of its history must be done without acrimony and without accusations which are not necessarily proven”.
One month before the commemoration of the Évian agreements, signed on March 18, 1962, Lamamra demands the “reappropriation of all immaterial and material goods which have been moved and [that] certain natural or legal persons have appropriated”.. In this sense, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs evokes the Algerian cannon “La consulaire” (also called ” Baba Merzoug”) exhibited in the military port of Brest, as well as archives and “even some skulls of heroes of the Algerian resistance”. which would be kept, according to Lamamra, in museums.
On the closure of airspace to French military aircraft
Asked also about the decision to close Algerian airspace to French military planes, taken by Algiers in response to Emmanuel Macron’s remarks on the nature of power in Algeria, Ramtane Lamamra affirmed that this decision – that he qualifies as ” technical ” – may soon be lifted.
“This is a technical measure that is not intended to last forever. Bridges of Algerian-French cooperation are being put back in place. This issue should not be treated as something eminently political or impassable,” says Ramtane Lamamra.
On the expulsion by France of Algerian undocumented migrants
In this regard, Ramtane Lamamra raised the sensitive issue of the expulsion by France of Algerian undocumented migrants, stating that Algeria does not refuse to welcome its nationals, as has often been announced by the French authorities.
“The law must be applied, but not selectively and with respect for human dignity. In the discussion with the French authorities, we will ensure that there are no charters and that people benefit from possible remedies before they are deported to the borders,” he specifies.
“The Algerian authorities want these Algerian-French agreements to be carried out properly. It is wrong to say that we refuse to receive our compatriots who have nothing to do in France. When some publicly announce that it is necessary to make figures, it is clear that there are abuses”, adds the head of the Algerian diplomacy about this question which was moreover behind the decision of the French authorities to reduce by 50% the number of visas granted to Algerians.
