11-07-2025
French Government Once Again Leaning Towards Appeasement With Algeria
French authorities reiterated their position aimed at avoiding a verbal and political escalation against Algeria. This comes after Paris assessed that this strategy would be of no benefit and would further complicate the situation of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is serving a five-year prison sentence.
The decision was made by the French Minister Delegate for the Francophonie and International Partnerships, Thani Mohamed Soilihi, who noted that the French government prefers to act 'quietly' to secure its nationals abroad, most notably Boualem Sansal, believing that public denunciations only worsen their situation, declared the Minister Delegate in charge of international partnerships, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday night.
'There are those who agitate or denounce without achieving anything, which makes the situation worse. We act quietly, with only results as a guide,' added Thani Mohamed Soilihi.
The official agency explained that the statement by the official in François Bayrou's government came at a time when some politicians are calling on the government to raise its voice, particularly about Algeria and Iran, which has also imprisoned two French citizens (a woman and a man) on charges of spying for the Zionist entity.
In response to government questions in the Senate, in the absence of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who was in London on an official visit with Emmanuel Macron, the French minister confirmed that 'the entire French diplomatic corps is working to secure the release of detained French nationals' abroad.
After an unannounced truce by the French side, which began weeks before the appeal hearing in the Boualem Sansal case and continued until Independence Day, the French had hoped for the release of their 'writer,' either by reducing his sentence or issuing a presidential pardon. However, neither possibility materialised, a development that has confounded the political and media landscape in France and placed the French authorities, led by Emmanuel Macron, in a major embarrassment before the local public opinion.
For nearly a week, French diplomacy has been under intense fire from Sansal's defenders, particularly the so-called Committee for the International Support of Boualem Sansal, represented by its president, Noëlle Lenoir, and its active member, Arnaud Benedetti. The committee accused the French authorities of not acting energetically enough, believing that the time for appeasement gestures is no longer right.
Although Sansal did not benefit from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's pardon, based on the Algerian presidency's statement that excluded those who committed crimes against the country's territorial integrity, several French officials and some figures affiliated with the far right came out to confirm that a pardon was still possible and might even be considered a health consideration. This prompted the Algerian Press Agency to circulate a telegram that dashed all hopes of a pardon for the Franco-Algerian writer.
This development has caused a stir in political and diplomatic circles in France, and the prospect of a renewed escalation between the two sides, which began earlier this year, has appeared on the horizon. This has been marked by the return of the former French ambassador to Algeria, who served twice, Xavier Driencourt, to the media spotlight via far-right media platforms, calling on Paris to return to its iron-fist logic and speaking of Algeria's humiliation of Paris, in a clear repetition of phrases previously repeated by the Interior Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, before he disappeared from view some time ago.
