No Free Passes
France will review and possibly change a decades-old agreement that facilitates Algerian immigration to the country unless Algeria agrees to take back its citizens facing deportation, a move that exacerbates tensions between the two countries following a deadly knife attack by an Algerian national over the weekend, Reuters reported.
On Wednesday, French Prime Minister François Bayrou said Algeria’s refusal to accept the individuals deported constitutes “a direct attack on the agreements we have with the Algerian authorities and we will not accept it.”
He said the government would take four to six weeks to assess Algeria’s compliance with the 1968 pact and present a substantial list of individuals it expects Algeria to take back. If Algeria refuses, France will consider restricting the advantages granted under the agreement.
Under that agreement between France and its former colony, Algerians enjoy a series of exceptions to French immigration laws that make it easier for them to settle in France.
In 2023, Algerians accounted for 12.2 percent of immigrants in France.
The government’s announcements came days after an Algerian citizen killed one person and injured three others in a stabbing spree in the eastern city of Mulhouse.
The attack added to already heated debates about immigration in France, with officials alleging that Paris had attempted to repatriate the attacker 14 times without success.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has repeatedly called for a revision of the agreement, saying that it hampers efforts to deport Algerians under the “OQTF” (obligation to leave French territory) regime.
In response, Algeria accused France of succumbing to “far-right orders” and warned of “immeasurable consequences” for bilateral relations, Politico wrote.
The Algerian Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed “surprise and astonishment” over new travel restrictions France placed on certain Algerian officials, adding that Algiers had not been informed in advance.
Relations between Paris and Algiers have worsened in recent months, exacerbated by Algeria’s failure to crack down on Algerian influencers accused of attempting to incite violence in France, and France’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
The move angered Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front that is seeking an independent state there.
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