Algeria Orders Expulsion of 12 French Diplomats Amid Escalating Tensions
Algeria has ordered 12 French embassy officials to leave the country within 48 hours, intensifying a diplomatic dispute with France, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced on Monday.
The move follows France’s indictment of three Algerian nationals, including a consular official, over the abduction of a prominent Algerian government critic in Paris last year.
Background to the Dispute
The expulsions are linked to the case of Amir Boukhors, a 41-year-old social media influencer known as Amir DZ, with over one million online followers.
Boukhors, who was granted asylum in France in 2023, was abducted in April 2024 in a Paris suburb and released the following day. His lawyer, Eric Plouvier, told AFP that Boukhors had been “the subject of two serious attacks, one in 2022 and another on the evening of April 29, 2024”.
French media reported he was forced into a car by individuals posing as police officers. French prosecutors have charged three Algerians with abduction, arbitrary detention, and participating in a terrorist organisation.
Algeria’s foreign ministry summoned French ambassador Stéphane Romatet to protest the consular official’s arrest, claiming it was conducted without notification through diplomatic channels and aimed at derailing efforts to mend bilateral ties.
Algeria’s Response and French Reaction
Algerian authorities have accused Boukhors of being “a saboteur linked to terrorist groups” and issued nine international arrest warrants against him for fraud and terror-related offences, charges he denies.
Barrot urged Algeria to “abandon these expulsion measures”, warning that France would “respond immediately” if the decision is upheld, as cited by the BBC.
A diplomatic source told AFP that the officials targeted include members of France’s interior ministry.
A Fragile Relationship
The incident is the latest strain on France-Algeria relations, already tense after France’s 2024 endorsement of Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara and the imprisonment of French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal in Algeria.
Algeria’s official news agency reported the expulsions as a response to France’s actions, which it said aimed to hinder efforts to relaunch bilateral relations.
Despite a recent phone call between Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdelmadjid Tebboune described as “long, frank and friendly”, and Barrot’s visit to Algiers on April 6, hopes for reconciliation now appear dim.
If carried out, the expulsions would mark the first of French diplomats since Algeria’s independence in 1962, according to France’s foreign ministry.