France to tighten visa rules for Algerian diplomats as deportation dispute escalates
PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday has asked his government to tighten visa requirements on Algerian diplomats as a dispute about deportation of Algerian nationals escalates.
In a letter to his Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, which was seen by Reuters, Macron said the growing difficulties that France is encountering in terms of migration and security with Algeria required a tougher stance against the former French colony.
Macron requested that Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot officially notify Algeria of the suspension of a 2013 agreement that exempted diplomatic and official passport holders from visa requirements.
He also requested that France's interior minister ask countries in the Schengen zone -- which allow passport-free travel between their borders -- to help France apply the tighter visa policy, notably by consulting France for the issuance of short-stay visas for the Algerian officials in question and the passports covered by the 2013 agreement.
"France must be strong and command respect. It can only receive this from its partners if it shows them the respect it demands from them. This basic rule also applies to Algeria," Macron said.
Ties between Paris and Algiers have deteriorated since France in July 2024 recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which Rabat wants the international community to recognise as Moroccan.
Tensions increased after Algeria detained Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal in November and came to a head in February this year when an Algerian citizen whom France had long tried unsuccessfully to repatriate was arrested as the suspect in a knife attack in the city of Mulhouse that killed one person and injured three.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has repeatedly called for the review of Franco-Algerian migration and visa arrangements following the Algerian authorities' refusal to take back its citizens who have been ordered to leave France under the "OQTF" (obligation to leave French territory) deportation regime.
(Reporting by Geert De Clercq and Michel Rose; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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