3 days ago
A report on the 1968 Agreement on the French Parliament's Agenda
After a period of unannounced calm between Algeria and France, new developments suggest a return to high tensions between the two capitals, further indicating of the failure of all attempts at de-escalation.
What's striking is that the French side, as usual, always initiates escalation, hoping to achieve gains through political pressure. This approach has proven ineffective over the past 11 months of escalating political and diplomatic crisis.
What's even more interesting about this issue is that those fanning the flames of the crisis are not limited to the far right or individuals obsessed with Algeria, such as Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. They also belong to the presidential camp, specifically the 'Renaissance' party, founded by French President Emmanuel Macron to reach the Élysée Palace.
In this context, two MPs from the ruling party, Mathieu Lefèvre and Charles Rodwell, have prepared a report on 'Evaluating the Cost of the 1968 Agreement' on immigration between Algeria and France.
The conclusions of this report will be presented to the French Parliament in early July, a development that could spark further controversy and heighten tensions between the two countries.
The 1968 agreement is a sensitive issue that has been a source of tension between Algeria and Paris. The French far right and their new theorist, former ambassador to Algeria Xavier Driencourt, have used it as a Trojan horse to pressure successive Macron governments to abolish it.
They argue that the agreement offers exclusive privileges to Algerian citizens in terms of residence, employment, education, and the pursuit of liberal activities. These descriptions no longer hold any credibility in light of the amendments introduced to it from the mid-1980s to the beginning of the third millennium.
According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, MP Charles Rodville insists that the report's purpose is to shed light on what he considers 'financial abuses, particularly in the files of social assistance and health protection, which also affect the security of French citizens, as some deported Algerian citizens remain on French soil to this day.' He is referring here to the expenses his country incurs on migrants who have been issued deportation orders and whom Algeria has refused to receive due to France's failure to follow the usual diplomatic procedures and channels in such cases.
The MP Mathieu Lefèvre argued that this report also aims to revive debate on this issue, which had been largely absent since French President Emmanuel Macron decided to close it last March. This came in response to repeated demands from his Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, regarding the issue. Retailleau asserted that the 1968 agreement remains the exclusive prerogative of the Élysée Palace (the French presidency) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by Jean-Noël Barrot.
The affiliation of the two MPs who prepared the report on the 1968 agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron's party is a strong indication that the targeting of Algeria and its vital interests in France is no longer limited to parties accustomed to such behaviour, such as the traditional right and the far right, but has spread across the French political class, except the left-wing movement under the New National Front (NFP), representing a dangerous development that threatens to deepen the escalating political and diplomatic crisis, which is approaching the end of its first year.
Reviving the debate in the French parliament on the 1968 immigration agreement could lead to serious escalations targeting the Algerian community in France, which numbers in the millions. The presidential camp, represented by the 'Renaissance' party, will bear full responsibility, as previous tensions are usually attributed to the far right, known for its intense hostility toward Algeria and its community.
