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The long road back: France and Algeria inch toward normalcy
1 min Mena Today
France's Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin travels to Algiers on Monday, the latest in a series of high-level visits aimed at normalising relations between Paris and its former colony after one of the worst diplomatic crises in recent memory.
Gerald Darmanin © Mena Today
France's Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin travels to Algiers on Monday, the latest in a series of high-level visits aimed at normalising relations between Paris and its former colony after one of the worst diplomatic crises in recent memory.
The rift erupted in the summer of 2024, when France backed a Moroccan autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara, a move Algiers viewed as a direct provocation. Algeria recalled its ambassador to Paris almost immediately.
Tensions deepened further in November 2024 with the arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who was eventually pardoned by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune a year later.
The thaw has been gradual but deliberate. Visits by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez in February and junior Defence Minister Alice Rufo in May have helped restore a working dialogue. Darmanin's trip is expected to advance judicial cooperation, and to raise the case of at least one journalist still behind bars.
The road back to normalcy between Paris and Algiers is long. But Monday's visit suggests both sides have decided to walk it.
By Lina Zerouki
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