Algeria blocks French deportation list amid strained relations
The Foreign Ministry of Algeria took to X to confirm that they had refused to accept a deportation list from France, who it accuses of straining relations by using a “language of threats and blackmail”.
According to Middle East Monitor on March 19th, Algeria has stressed that France must adhere to agreed upon channels in order to address bilateral issues.
The latest round of tensions have stemmed from the refusal of Algeria to accept a list of deportations from France which they claim is “selective”.
Maghrebi reported on March 18th that: “France had planned the deportations of around 60 citizens, however, the list was rejected with the Algerian foreign ministry saying they “categorically reject threats and intimidation, as well as…ultimatums.”
The Secretary-General of the Algerian Foreign Ministry, Lounes Magramane, met with officials in the French embassy in order to offer Algeria’s official response to the proposed deportations.
Algeria followed this up by suspending consular services in the French municipal districts of Nice, Marseille and Montpellier meaning that hearings of Algerian nationals held in these municipal regions will be forced to cease.
Tensions between Algeria and its former colonising power have been put under strain in recent years, as France has decided to support Morocco in its bid for autonomy over the Western Sahara.
This issue has exacerbated a relationship that was already being fraught due to the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe and North Africa.
The two countries have worked together on issues of migration since Algeria gained independence in 1962, however France is now willing to break protocol in order to try and achieve their goals.
Algeria has urged France not to override the 1974 consular relations agreement with the 1994 protocol agreement, stressing that the enforcement of one legal text must not come at the expense of another.
The 1974 agreement remains the primary framework of understanding for consular relations between the nations.
Immigration between the two countries has historically worked on the understanding of the 1974 agreement.
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