Exit of French Interior Minister rejoices Algerian media

Former French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was not included in the government of the new Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu. The move was welcomed by Algerian media, who are expecting a potential revival of French-Algerian relations, according to Le Journal du Dimanche, October 14.

Algerian media are celebrating the nomination of Laurent Nuñez as the new French Interior Minister, whose family lived in Algeria before the country gained independence from France in 1962. While they understand that Algeria’s fractured relationship with France wasn’t entirely caused by Retailleau, they see the former minister’s exit as one less hurdle towards easing the tensions between the nations.

The former Interior Minister held his position for more than a year under three prime ministers, including Lecornu, who nominated him for his first government. This was before the head of the ministers decided to resign shortly after he announced his selection.

According to 20 minutes, Retailleau was responsible for adding chaos to the already unstable situation that Lecornu found himself in when he was nominated. After President Emmanuel Macron reappointed Lecornu as prime minister, the new cabinet was formed without Retailleau.

Retailleau was deemed harsh on Algeria. His approach differed from Macron’s more accommodating and diplomatic attitude. He even threatened to resign if ordered to soften his stance toward the North African country.

Algeria’s diplomatic ties with France had already deteriorated before the former French Interior Minister was assigned to his position. In July 2024, France officially recognised the sovereignty of Morocco over the Western Sahara which deeply angered Algeria, according to France 24 via AFP. Tensions were further aggravated by disputes over migration and political prisoners.

Retailleau’s most recent Algerian case put a lot of pressure on the North African government. He pushed for the repatriation of Algerian nationals who were under the obligation to leave the French territory. Reported by Le Journal du Dimanche, one of them stabbed multiple people and killed one person, while others were said to promote violence and terrorism on social media.

However, Algeria repeatedly refused to repatriate their citizens, which humiliated France according to Retailleau who later stated that Algeria was in violation of international law for their uncooperative attitude.

Algeria later required citizens who were set to be deported to pass through an Algerian consulate for administrative processing. However, Algeria had previously halted their consulate services in southern France, which ultimately added barriers to thwart the French authorities’ deportation efforts.

While France and Algeria reportedly normalised their relations at the end of March, their ties reached a new low after the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said they were “totally blocked”.

The tensions continued to intensify as Retailleau and French right-wing parties pushed for France and the EU to review their association deal with Algeria until the release of French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal who was detained for criticising the Algerian government.

With a record of six prime ministers during his second presidential mandate, President Macron has been dealing with a difficult political landscape for the past two years.

After dissolving the French parliament in June 2024, Macron lost his ruling majority to a fragmented parliament without a clear leading party, an environment prone to fragile political alliances and unclear decision-making.

Nuñez might decide to adopt Macron’s diplomatic attitude, follow in his predecessor’s footsteps, or even forge his own path. Nonetheless, Retailleau’s departure alone is unlikely to resolve France’s ongoing challenges in managing its complex relationship with Algeria.

Le Journal du Dimanche, France 24 via AFP, Le Figaro, Maghrebi