France hits back at Algeria with expulsion of 12 diplomats
France hits back at Algeria with expulsion of 12 diplomats as diplomatic row escalates.
According to the BBC, on the 15th of April France recalled its ambassador Stéphane Romatet for consultations and expelled 12 Algerian officials.
This appears to be the next step in an escalating conflict between the two countries which have been in disputes with each other in multiple situations in recent history.
The current situation escalated on April 14th when Algeria ordered 12 French embassy staff to leave the country within 48 hours.
The catalyst for these expulsions was retaliation for France’s indictment of three suspected Algerian agents who kidnapped Amir DZ, an Algerian dissident, on French soil in April 2024.
These recent situations have now led to France’s action to expel Algerian officials with Paris calling it a “sudden deterioration in our bilateral relations”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot added, “Algerian authorities have chosen escalation”.
The Algerian minister Sofiane Chaib said the latest tension was down to French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau when relations had been in a “phase of warming up”.
Yet it appears that the escalation centres more broadly around the current situation in Western Sahara.
Algeria and Morocco have both been contesting the sovereignty of the region with Algeria backing the Polisario Front who control a small section of the territory while Morocco has wider sovereignty in the region.
Algeria’s backing of the Polisario Front comes as they see Morocco’s occupation as illegal with the Algerians preferring Sahrawi independence in the region.
Moroccan sovereignty in the region has seen strong backing from international officials such as the US with Marco Rubio and France’s Macron believing that the Western Sahara should be under Moroccan sovereignty.
This situation in Western Sahara has left Algeria with a sour taste and has set the stage for the recent escalation between France and Algeria.
BBC, Maghrebi.org
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