Behind the scenes of the Algerian-French tension

By Ali Rıza Taşdelen

Tension between Algeria and France is escalating. The arrest of an Algerian consular official by the French security forces set off the latest flare-up. In response, Algeria expelled 12 French embassy employees on April 13. France retaliated by expelling twelve Algerian diplomatic and consular staff and recalled its ambassador to Algiers, Stéphane Romatet.

Relations between the two countries, often with ups and downs since Algeria’s independence in 1962, have rarely experienced a crisis of this magnitude. Now the question is: how far will this tit-for-tat spiral go?

Algerian sources claim the twelve expelled French consular staff were, in fact, domestic intelligence officers affiliated with France’s Interior Ministry. In an article published on algeriepatriotique.com, titled “The French Embassy in Algiers, a DGSE Outpost: A Nest of Spies”, journalist Kamel M. argues that “the French Embassy in Algiers has the highest number of spies per square meter.” He goes on to say, “The expulsion of twelve agents disguised as diplomats and stationed at the French Embassy sends a clear, twofold message to Emmanuel Macron and his regime: Algeria will answer any blow with a stronger one, and if Paris continues recklessly down this dead-end path, Algiers is prepared to go all the way to the point of rupture.”

The final straw that pushed Algeria to take such a radical step was France’s arrest of an Algerian consulate officer, who held diplomatic immunity by nature, without adhering to the usual protocols of the Vienna Convention. According to a statement by the French Interior Ministry, three individuals, including the Algerian consulate officer, were arrested on charges of “kidnapping and ties to a terrorist operation”. The arrests are allegedly linked to abduction of Amir Boukhors, a political dissident known on TikTok as Amir DZ, on April 29, 2024.

Amir Boukhors has lived in France since 2016 and is the subject of nine international arrest warrants issued by Algeria. He is accused of fraud and links to terrorism. In 2022, French courts rejected his extradition, and in 2023, he was granted political asylum.

The arrest of the Algerian diplomat came just two weeks after a phone call between President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and only a week after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot’s visit to Algiers. While France claimed these moves were part of an effort to ease tensions, the Algerian website algeriepatriotique accused Macron of using diplomatic niceties as a smokescreen, being “nothing more than a stalling tactic disguised in sweet talk.”

The crisis triggered by the Western Sahara issue

The current crisis actually began in July 2024 when Emmanuel Macron recognized “Moroccan sovereignty” over Western Sahara. This marked a departure from France’s traditional stance, which had aligned with the United Nations (UN) decision that Western Sahara had no defined status. In Western Sahara, 80% of the region is occupied by Morocco, while the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria, has been fighting for independence for 50 years. Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara is supported by the US and Israel. Now France has joined this alliance.

France’s decision was met with a strong reaction from Algeria. The Algerian government declared that “France would bear all consequences arising from this decision” and held the French government “fully and solely responsible”. Algeria also immediately recalled its ambassador to France. In a press statement, the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) condemned France’s decision as “a new provocation” and reiterated that “the Western Sahara issue is a decolonization matter; France’s decision is unlawful because the people of Western Sahara do not belong to Morocco.” The FLN also reaffirmed its support for the Polisario Front.

The arrest of Bouhalem Sansal

Diplomatic relations between Algeria and France were reduced to a chargé d’affaires level. Relations between Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Macron had been completely severed until a phone conversation on March 31, 2025.

The arrest of the Algerian-born French “writer” Boualem Sansal on November 16, 2024, in Algeria, and his trial on March 13, 2025, where he was sentenced to five years in prison, drew France’s strong reaction. Sansal is known for making anti-Algerian statements and engaging in activities against Algeria. He argued that Morocco’s land, which had been ceded to Algeria during the French colonial period, was unjustly taken from it: “When France colonized Algeria, the entire western part of Algeria, including Tlemcen, Oran, and even Mascara, was part of Morocco. The entire region belonged to the kingdom.” For these views, he was prosecuted under Algeria’s Penal Code, specifically articles that punish “terrorist or destructive acts” and “damaging or inciting harm to the integrity of national territory.”

Sansal was also accused of providing sensitive security, economic, and intelligence information to the French Embassy in Algeria in the past. His arrest became a new point of contention between France and Algeria, further damaging cooperation in all fields. Macron described Sansal as “a freedom fighter who was arbitrarily detained by Algerian authorities”. This angered the Algerian president, who accused France of sending “a fraudster who does not know his identity, does not know his father, and claims that half of Algeria belongs to another country.”

France arresting Algerian influencers

In response, France launched a series of actions against Algeria. Several Algerians living in France, who are followed by millions on social media, were arrested on charges of “calling for violence in support of the “Tebboune regime”. One of the more widely covered cases was Naâman Boualem, a popular Algerian TikTok user known by the moniker “Boualem Dz”, who was arrested on January 9, 2025, and deported from France to Algeria. However, Algerian authorities refused to accept him at the airport. Upon this, Bruno Retailleau, the French Interior Minister known for his racist and anti-immigrant stance, said “Algeria is trying to humiliate France”.

Algeria refuses to accept deported terrorists

France’s deportation of Algerians is only allowed with the approval of the Algerian consulate. Otherwise, they are not allowed to board Air Algeria flights, or if sent on another airline, their entry into the country is denied.

A 37-year-old Algerian who had caused the death of a person in Mulhouse by shouting “Allahu Akbar” was intended to be deported, but Algeria had rejected him ten times. President Tebboune opposed by saying, “They will not return because they are connected to terrorism. They came from Syria. These people have dual nationality and no family here.”

Hundreds of jihadist terrorists from France participated in the civil war aimed at overthrowing the Syrian government. Among them were Algerian origin individuals. Later, when these terrorists returned to France, they became a nightmare for the country. France wanted to deport these captured terrorists or Algerians involved in an incident but refused by Algeria.

Algeria, which was under French colonial rule for 124 years, started its independence struggle in 1954, lasting for eight years. The French colonial rule, which claimed the deaths of 1.5 million Algerians, ended with Algeria’s independence in 1962. But Algeria-France relations have remained to be tense and full of crises.