France-Algeria diplomatic row escalates over immigration

A dispute over immigration has ramped up tensions between France and Algeria.

The row flared after Algeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected France's demand that it take back deported Algerian nationals.

In a statement on Feb 27, Algeria declared that it "categorically" rejected the ultimatum set by Paris, triggering a diplomatic dispute that worsened when the wife of Algeria's ambassador to Mali was denied entry to France the following day.

Just two weeks earlier, the same treatment had been meted out to Abdelaziz Khellaf, former chief of staff of Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

France's push to get Algeria to take back the individuals France wanted to deport included an announcement by French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Feb 26 that his country may seek to revise its 1968 immigration agreement with Algeria.

"France will ask Algeria to reconsider the 1968 agreement," Bayrou told a news conference, warning that if Algeria refused to accept the deportees, the agreement could be scrapped.

The 1968 agreement gives Algerians special immigration privileges in France. However, many French politicians, especially those on the right, argue it is outdated.

The crisis is one of the severest between France and Algeria recently.

A similar diplomatic conflict flared in 2005 when France passed a law recognizing the "positive role" of its colonial history in North Africa. However, Algeria did not react as strongly then as it has now.

Relations between the two countries have been tense since July 30, when Algeria withdrew its ambassador from Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron officially recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara, a highly sensitive issue for Algeria.

Another key issue in the current dispute is the exemption of diplomatic passport holders from visa requirements. Under an agreement signed in 2013, officials from both countries can travel without visas. However, France is reviewing that arrangement.

On Feb 27, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told TV channel LCI that France had imposed "restrictive measures" on some Algerian officials.

"These measures are reversible, depending on Algeria's level of cooperation," he said, without providing further details.

Strong reactions

The dispute has sparked strong reactions from politicians across France's political spectrum.

On RMC radio on Monday, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said, "No historical pain gives anyone the right to insult my country, France."

He also warned that France has the means to respond if Algeria continues to refuse to cooperate.

"There are ways of gradual retaliation on the table," he said.

On the other side of the debate, some French politicians have criticized the government's handling of the crisis.

On Feb 26, left-wing lawmaker Eric Coquerel told BFM TV: "What France is doing to Algeria is a rare mistake and a historic blunder. I call for calm. Bruno Retailleau should step back — it is the French diplomatic corps, not the interior minister, that should handle relations with Algeria."

Similarly, Francois Gemenne, a professor at the HEC Paris business school and a researcher at the University of Liege in Belgium, said on LCI TV on Feb 27: "The issue of immigration is being used as a diplomatic tool. The people who will suffer the most are those who need to travel."

Meanwhile, right-wing politicians have urged Macron to take a tougher stance.

On Tuesday, lawmaker Sebastien Chenu told Europe 1 radio: "Not canceling the 1968 agreements is a shame. Emmanuel Macron is afraid. How can we be governed by a president who is afraid?"

The diplomatic crisis has also exposed tensions within the French government. In an interview with French daily Le Figaro, Macron made it clear that decisions on the 1968 agreements were his responsibility.

His remark was widely seen as a warning to Bayrou and Retailleau, both of whom have taken a hard-line approach on immigration policy.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.