France says it will expel 12 Algerian diplomatic and consular staff members and has recalled its ambassador from Algiers, deepening a crisis that threatens to unravel months of attempted reconciliation between the two countries.
The announcement on Tuesday comes a day after Algeria ordered 12 French diplomats to leave within 48 hours.
Algiers announced the expulsions after French prosecutors indicted three Algerian nationals, including a consular official, over the alleged kidnapping of a prominent government critic in Paris last year.
The activist, Amir Boukhors – better known to his more than one million TikTok followers as “Amir DZ” – was granted asylum in France in 2023. He was abducted in a Paris suburb in April last year and released the next day. French authorities said the three suspects are also facing charges of “terrorist” conspiracy.
Strained relations
It is the first time France has detained an employee of the Algerian consulate, marking a sharp escalation in tensions between Paris and the former French colony.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday that the expulsions were directly linked to the arrests.
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs noted that Algeria’s move, if carried out, would mark the first expulsion of French diplomats from the country since its independence in 1962.
Algeria, which has issued nine international arrest warrants for Boukhors on charges including fraud and “terrorism”, is demanding his extradition.
The escalation comes despite recent overtures between the two countries. Just a week earlier, Barrot met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and declared bilateral relations had returned to normal after a period of simmering tensions.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s backing of Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed region of Western Sahara last year sparked outrage in Algiers. The jailing of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal by an Algerian court last month only added to the strain with Macron calling for his release.
