The power France of Algeria and its former colonies have been strengthening diplomatic pressure after the lure of Algerian influencers. However, there is even more danger between Paris and Algiers.
Are France and Algeria on the brink of political conflict? On Tuesday, France said it was expelling 12 Algerian diplomats.
The diplomatic escalation comes a week after Algeria announced the expulsion of the same number of French officials, and the French prosecutor’s office launched criminal cases against three Algerians, including employees of the Algerian consulate.
They are suspected of being involved in the invitation of Algerian government critic and influencer Amir Boucor in the suburbs of Paris in April 2024.
A problematic history of colonies
The latest tensions highlight a new downward spiral in relations between the two countries, except for the summer of 2022, when the French-Algiers relationship experienced a temporary high.
At the time, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Algeria and symbolically described his country’s previous colonial rule as “crime against humanity.”
“This was a very informed historical and political symbol that was not taken for granted in France,” said Hasni Abidi, a political scientist at the Geneva Centre for Research and Study of the Arab and Mediterranean World.
“And that happened more than 60 years after our withdrawal from Algeria,” he added.
There were many deaths on the French side, especially during the Algerian liberation war. “This explains why colonialism is a sensitive issue to this day, as France’s rights, especially its extreme wings, refuse to accept Macron’s statement,” Abidi said.
Western Sahara conflict
However, relations between France and Algeria deteriorated once again when France sided with Morocco in the Western Sahara conflict in the summer of 2024.
Morocco claims control over the region that annexed in 1975. Meanwhile, Algeria supports the independent Polisario front, which is seeking independence in the western Sahara.
In protest, Algeria withdrew its ambassador from France in July 2024. Algeria was particularly angry as the French voice has a lot of weight as a permanent officer on the UN Security Council.
The Boukhors Incident
The latest conflict between the two countries revolves around Amir Boukor, a critic and influencer of the Algerian government who has become known for his harsh criticism of the Algerian regime under President Abdelmazid Tebborn on social networks.
He has been living in France since 2016 and was granted political asylum in 2023. The popular influencer who uses the online name “Amir DZ” has over 1.1 million followers on the online platform Tiktok.
Algerian courts have repeatedly convicted of fraud, threats, honour and other crimes between 2015 and 2019, according to newspaper Le Figaro and others.
Algeria also submitted two extradition requests in 2021, including “membership and partnership with terrorist organizations.”
However, the Paris Court of Appeals refused the extradition request.
According to French media such as France24, Bouhaus was lured in France in late April 2024 and released a day later. Boukhors’ lawyers explained that Algeria tried to lure his client after his previous arrest warrant was denied.
Algeria refuted this claim. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke about “an insane conspiracy.”
“Algeria is very involved in this incident as it stirs its population through social media,” Robin Frisch, head of the office of Algiers Friedrich Ebert Stifton, told DW.
“There are no boundaries in digital media, and everything Boukhors publishes is also read by Algerians. The Algerian government clearly doesn’t like it,” he said.
The Sansal Incident
The relationship between France and Algeria is tense due to the arrest and recent conviction of writer Boalem Sansar, an outspoken critic of Islamism and the Algerian regime. The Algerian author, who has French citizenship, was arrested in Algeria in November 2024.
The arrest was prompted by an interview with a YouTube channel considered an extreme right wing. He said that part of Algerian territory historically belongs to Morocco, a neighbor and rival of Algeria. In March, the 80-year-old author was sentenced to five years in prison.
“Sansal is close to political rights,” said observer Hasni Abidi.
Meanwhile, his arrest also sparked massive debate in France. “The topic is sensitive because the majority of French people are seeking Sansal’s release and President Macron can’t afford to ignore it,” Abidi added.
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In fact, Macron has repeatedly publicly criticised Sansal’s arrest in Algeria and called for his release in late March.
Domestic pressure
“Mcron finds himself in a difficult position with regard to Algeria,” says Robin Frisch of Friedrich Ebert Stifton.
“That’s why his attitude towards Algeria is also a way to protect himself from political rights,” Frisch explained.
But in his view, the same applies to Algeria.
North African countries are fighting incredible social and economic challenges. According to the business information platform German Trade and Investment, the illiteracy rate is 19% and the unemployment rate is 12%. Young people have been particularly affected by this, and have repeatedly rebelled against the government in recent years, particularly in the “Hilak” movement.
“In this regard, repeated public disputes with France are likely to be a way for Algerian rulers to distract attention from the central issues within the country,” Frisch said.
This article was originally published in German.
