French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez began a two-day visit to Algeria on Monday in an effort to revive security cooperation between Paris and Algiers.
Laurent Nuñez © Mena Today
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez began a two-day visit to Algeria on Monday in an effort to revive security cooperation between Paris and Algiers.
The trip, however, takes place against a backdrop of deep and persistent diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Relations sharply deteriorated in the summer of 2024 after France officially recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory claimed by the Polisario Front and backed by Algeria. The move angered Algerian authorities and marked a turning point in bilateral ties.
Since then, tensions have escalated through a series of incidents, including the abduction of an Algerian influencer critical of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s government, the arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, the indictment of an Algerian consular official in France, and the subsequent expulsion of French diplomats from Algiers. These episodes have deepened mistrust on both sides.
Although no meeting with President Tebboune has been officially scheduled, Nuñez did not rule out the possibility. The visit appears to be a cautious attempt to reopen dialogue in a relationship strained by political disagreements and recurring diplomatic crises.
By Souad Merabet
Spain's Ceuta, still reeling from a rush of 72,000 migrants arriving on its shores in one week, is seeking the transfer of hundreds of unaccompanied minors still in the enclave to mainland Spain, local leaders said on Wednesday.
Libyan police said inmates staged a mass escape from a jail on Tuesday while armed clashes erupted nearby in two cities west of the capital Tripoli.
Spanish authorities should have anticipated the consequences of a court ruling that weakened a key deterrent against illegal migration and contributed to last week's mass crossings into the enclave of Ceuta in northern Morocco, a senior Moroccan official said on Monday.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.