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
A Moroccan prosecutor said on Wednesday he had ordered the release of veteran journalist and political commentator Ali Lmrabet after questioning him, although an investigation continues following allegations of defamation and libel.
G7 foreign ministers and the European Union's foreign policy chief on Wednesday urged Sudan's Rapid Support Forces and allied armed groups to stop all actions that could lead to further atrocities or endanger civilians in El-Obeid.
The Sudanese army has conditioned any broad acceptance of a U.S. proposal for ending the country's three-year-old civil war on the full withdrawal by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces from cities it has occupied, according to documents seen by Reuters.
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