French authorities have arrested three Algerian influencers living in France for making violent statements on social media. This comes as tensions are running high between France and Algeria.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced Sunday that authorities in the southern city of Montpellier detained an Algerian influencer known as Doualemn, who had published a video on Tiktok calling for the death of an Algerian anti-regime protester.
The arrest came after Montpellier mayor, Michaël Delafosse, had reported the man for inciting hatred.
Two days earlier, on Friday, two other Algerian influencers were arrested in Brest and near Grenoble.
Calling for violence in France
Youcef A, known as Zazou Youssef on TikTok, where he has hundreds of thousands of followers, called for attacks on France, according to Retailleau.
In a video published on 31 December on the account, which has since been deleted, the 25-year-old spoke in Arabic with French subtitles, calling for attacks in France and violence in Algeria.
He was arrested early Friday in Brest and has been detained until his trial for advocating terrorism on 24 February.
A fan of his known as Imadtintin was arrested on Friday evening in Echirolles, near Grenoble, after he published a video reacting to Youcef A’s arrest, in which he calling for followers to “burn", "kill" and "rape" opponents to the Algerian regime in France.
He was put under judicial supervision until his court appearance Monday afternoon.
Deportation orders
In France since the end of 2021, Imadtinin had received a deportation order after an unsuccessful application for a residence permit in 2023, following his marriage to a French woman.
Zazou Youssef was also ordered to leave France, after his residence permit was not renewed in March.
The prefecture of Herault told the AFP news agency that it was considering withdrawing Doualemn's permit and to issue a deportation order.
Diplomatic tensions
The arrests come as relations between France and Algeria, already complicated for decades because of their colonial past, have worsened.
In July 2024 France recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, whose independence movement is backed by Algeria.
In November Algeria detained Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, which nearly caused a break in diplomatic ties.
(with newswires)
