Former French minister makes a successful trip to Algeria

Former French education minister and presidential candidate Segolène Royal made an official visit to Algeria, in her role as President of the France-Algeria Association, according to France 24 via AFP on January 30th.

She was received by president Abdelmadjid Tebboune as well as the Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa, with whom she discussed the case of French journalist Christophe Gleizes. He is currently serving a 7 year jail sentence for “supporting terrorism”, after he interviewed one of the leaders of a Kabylia football club who is reportedly also associated to the now proscribed MAK (Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylia).

Royal was warmly received in Algeria and after her meeting with Tebboune, she noted that the president was ready to restart diplomatic relations with France, “as long as respect and consideration were present”.

In interviews with local media, she praised the economic growth of the North African country, defending its right to national sovereignty and “non-alignment“, and she denounced the attitude of some French politicians, accusing them of “hate speech”.

In a statement that caused controversy in France, she also called for the return of archives, human remains and stolen artefacts held in French museums, as well as for an investigation on France’s nuclear tests in the Sahara in the 1960s, which caused long-term health and environmental damages by exposing local populations to radiations.

Royal’s visit is an important diplomatic step towards rebuilding the relationship between both France and Algeria. An unnamed source suggested she was not acting on behalf of French president Emmanuel Macron, but that her visit was “entirely on her own initiative.” France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has alluded to a possible trip to the North African state to “restart dialogue“, but he is yet to visit.

France 24 via AFP, AL24 News, Maghrebi.org