Algeria describes French-Moroccan border drills as ‘provocation’
The fallout between Algeria and France has continued after Algeria’s foreign ministry summoned the French ambassador, Stéphane Romatet, on March 6th to object to a planned military exercise, calling it an “unjustified military escalation.”
According to The New Arab, Algerian officials have warned that the joint French-Moroccan drills, planned for September near the Algerian border, would be a “provocation” that would further harm relations between Paris and Algiers.
Dubbed “Chergui 2025,” the military exercise is scheduled for the city of Errachidia. Algiers views this as uncomfortably close to its border.
Lounès Magramane, Secretary-General of Algeria’s Foreign Ministry, said “this move will escalate tensions between the two countries to a new level of severity.” He also demanded official clarification from Paris.
French officials have framed the drills as part of broader military cooperation with Morocco, although France’s defence ministry has yet to publicly comment.
The downturn in relations between Paris and Algiers traces back to July 2024, when French president Emmanuel Macron broke with decades of diplomatic ambiguity to support Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
This infuriated Algiers, which backs the Polisario Front, a separatist movement who have fought Morocco for the independence of the territory.
Ties between France and Algeria have since declined sharply, with France recently threatening to review a decades-old migration pact with Algeria.
The New Arab
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