Paris heading towards a break with Algeria… and it is the biggest loser!

It has become highly likely that Algerian-French relations are on the verge of a break, an approach that many observers are now repeating, and which is embodied by the decisions issued from time to time from the two capitals, the latest of which is the exchange of expulsion of large numbers of diplomats from both sides for the second time in just one month.
Amidst this escalation, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, announced on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, that France had summoned the Algerian Chargé d’Affaires in Paris to inform him of the French authorities’ protest against Algeria’s decision to expel 15 employees at the French embassy, whose appointments were not in line with the relevant bilateral agreements.
The head of French diplomacy explained in a talk show on “BFM TV” that his country would respond to the Algerian authorities’ decision, but he did not mention the number of Algerian diplomats concerned by the expected decision or its date, a decision that was also included in a statement issued by the French Foreign Ministry, which was circulated on the same day.
Algeria had summoned the Chargé d’Affaires at the French embassy in Algiers last Sunday and informed him of the decision to expel new French officials from Algerian territory who were performing duties at the French embassy in Algiers, according to a dispatch from the Algerian News Agency, which stated that the French employees were appointed outside the agreed diplomatic norms.
According to the French official, the matter concerns “all employees holding diplomatic passports who do not currently have a visa to Algeria.” It was noteworthy in Jean-Noël Barrot’s statement that the Algerian authorities’ decision was not preceded by consultation with the French authorities, a statement that lacks credibility, because France was the first to prevent Algerian diplomats from entering French territory.
What is interesting is that this measure, which is regulated by the bilateral agreement signed between the two countries in 2013, and which Jean-Noël Barrot claimed was violated by Algeria, had previously been confirmed by the French Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, that Paris would stop implementing this agreement, even though the matter does not concern him at all.
Then his counterpart in the government, the Foreign Minister, comes to accuse Algeria of violating the agreement in a position that raises questions about the extent of the chaos and confusion in the French government, which is suffering from fragility that could bring it down at any moment.
With bilateral relations sliding to unprecedented levels of crisis, the French side emerges as the undisputed culprit for these unexpected developments, as it was the initiator of the offense, through the “unfriendly” decision, which is inconsistent with international laws and United Nations resolutions, which is supporting the alleged sovereignty of the Moroccan regime over the occupied Sahrawi territories.
Commenting on the rapid developments between Algeria and Paris, former Algerian Ambassador, Nourredine Djoudi, holds the French authorities fully responsible, due to their hostile positions towards Algerian interests and their provocations that refuse to stop.
In the opinion of the retired diplomat, who is a former director of the Africa Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the core of the problem lies in “the weakness of the French government and the multiplicity of decision-making sources within it, so that a person like the Interior Minister has become involved in the affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Foreign Minister remains unable to put an end to his colleague’s interference in the affairs of his portfolio, while the head of state (Emmanuel Macron) watches this scene.”
The former ambassador believes that decision-making sources in Paris have fallen into the hands of unconstitutional forces, and he pointed here to the strong influence of the anti-Algerian Zionist lobby in France, represented by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), on the current French authorities.
Mr. Nourredine Djoudi did not rule out the possibility of bilateral relations reaching a break, but he explained that “the biggest loser in that will undoubtedly be the French side, and the current reality confirms that. The import of grains, meat, and many other French products has stopped, while we have many alternative options to France.”
He added: “We are facing a second crisis similar to what happened in the 1970s between the late President Houari Boumediene and his French counterpart at the time, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, against the backdrop of the latter’s decision to support the Moroccan regime in its occupation of Western Sahara,” stressing that Paris will be the losing party.

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