Latest news with #Sansal
El Chorouk
04-05-2025
- Politics
- El Chorouk
French Far-Right Incites The European Union Against Algeria
The French National Assembly (the lower house of parliament) witnessed a hysterical campaign led by deputies from the right and far-right against Algeria, exploiting the case of the writer Boualem Sansal in an attempt to impose political and judicial guardianship over a sovereign state, through a series of shocking amendments to a draft resolution that was supposed to be symbolic, but turned into a crude political pressure card. This torrent of delirium, hatred, and blatant interference in Algeria's internal affairs came after amendments submitted on Thursday, May 2, 2025, which 'Echorouk' reviewed, to a text by the Foreign Affairs Committee that had been adopted by the European Affairs Committee regarding the proposal submitted by Deputy Constance Le Grip and other members, concerning a European resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Boualem Sansal. In this context, deputies from the 'Les Républicains' and 'Rassemblement National' parties proposed amendments to the draft text, including a clause calling on the French government to suspend the granting of visas to Algerian citizens unless Sansal is released, which reflects a collective racist punitive approach targeting Algerians, especially families. The text of the amendment stated, 'We call on the French government to significantly reduce, or even suspend, the issuance of visas to Algerians, as long as Boualem Sansal has not been released.' The proponents of the amendments also did not hesitate to demand that the French government suspend 'alleged aid.' The accompanying arguments for the amendments included shocking condescending language, as the deputies accused the Algerian authorities of 'deliberately humiliating Sansal' and 'exercising unjustified political pressure on France,' considering Paris's stance on the issue 'weak and complicit,' and demanding a firm stance that includes 'using diplomatic and financial pressure tools.' It was also proposed to change the content of the paragraph on bilateral relations, by deleting the partnership formula and replacing it with a conditionality formula for the continuation of financial and executive cooperation based on 'Algeria fulfilling its commitments' in files such as the repatriation of Algerians deported from France, and the 'immediate release of Sansal.' In a new escalation that reflects a renewed colonial mentality, the proponents of the amendments from the right and far-right proposed a blatant amendment to the draft resolution, demanding that any future financial partnership between Algeria and the European Union be linked to respecting purely French conditions, foremost among them the file of repatriating Algerian migrants who have been issued deportation orders from French territory, and what they call the 'immediate release' of the writer Boualem Sansal. The proposed amendment noted that the European Union granted Algeria approximately 213 million euros between 2021 and 2024 within the framework of what is known as the 'Multiannual Financial Framework,' and this figure was later exploited as a political blackmail tool by French deputies attempting to impose impossible conditions on Algeria, as if European support is a favor conditioned on political loyalty or diplomatic submission. This far-right discourse not only reflects the hypocrisy of the French right-wing elites but also shows frantic attempts to turn European funding into a new colonial stick to be raised in the face of independent states, foremost among them Algeria, which has refused, and continues to refuse, to be under Paris's guardianship, no matter how it changes its pressure tools or disguises itself in the cloak of Europe.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France expels 12 Algerian officials amid diplomatic escalation
France on Tuesday ordered the expulsion of 12 Algerian diplomats and consular officials and recalled its ambassador in the latest escalation between the two countries. The measure, announced by President Emmanuel Macron's office, came after Algeria on Sunday ordered 12 French officials to leave within 48 hours in response to the arrest of an Algerian official in France. The Algerian officials in France have also been given 48 hours to leave. Macron's office called Algeria's actions "incomprehensible and unjustified" and said Algiers should "resume dialogue" and "take responsibility for the degradation in bilateral relations". France was "stunned" that relations had taken such a turn just two weeks after a phone call between Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Macron in a bid to repair ties, Macron's office added. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who went to Algiers at the start of the month as part of efforts to ease strains, said that Algeria had "chosen escalation". Relations became strained last year when France recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front. Ties soured further when Algeria arrested and jailed French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in November on national security charges. Sansal 80, is in poor health and his daughters on Tuesday appealed for Macron to secure his release in a commentary for Le Figaro newspaper that said Sansal was "a hostage" of the diplomatic battle. Algeria's foreign ministry said it had declared the 12 persona non grata after the arrest in France of an Algerian consular official last week which it called a "vile act". It has accused France's hardline Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau of wrecking the efforts to repair ties. Algeria has refused to take back nationals France has ordered to leave in recent months, including a 37-year-old who went on a stabbing rampage in the eastern city of Mulhouse in February, killing one person. Barrot said earlier that Algeria's latest expulsion orders were linked to the arrest of three Algerians, including an employee in an Algerian consulate, in France. The three were charged on Friday with kidnapping and terrorist conspiracy linked to the abduction of Amir Boukhors, an influencer and exiled opponent of the Algerian government. Retailleau backed Tuesday's expulsion of the Algerians and said it was "inadmissible that France becomes a playground for the Algerian (security) services." "In this difficult context, France will defend its interests and continue to demand that Algeria fully fulfil its obligations, in particular with regards to our national security and cooperation on migration," Macron's office commented. fff-ah/tw/giv
Morocco World
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Macron Confident of Boualem Sansal's Imminent Release Amid Efforts to Ease Algeria-France Tensions
Rabat – French President Emmanuel Macron expressed optimism today over the anticipated release of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is serving a five-year prison sentence in Algeria. Sansal's case is under 'special attention' by Algerian authorities, Macron commended during a visit to the Paris Book Festival, adding that the evolution of the case makes him confident that the writer would soon be released. 'I am confident because I know that there is particular attention. I am simply waiting for the results,' Macron said. He further noted, 'Our strongest wish is for the Algerian authorities to make the decision that will allow him to regain his freedom, receive treatment, and return to writing.' Macron made the remarks following a visit to the Morocco stand, this year's guest of honor at the festival. Sansal, who was sentenced on March 27 for 'undermining the integrity of the territory,' has been incarcerated since mid-November 2024. His politically motivated arrest and sentencing have been described as punishment for comments he made to the far-right French outlet Frontières. Sansal had suggested in the interview that Algeria had inherited territories from Morocco during French colonization. He has appealed the court's sentence, considering his case as unduly politicized and inadequately tried. Tensions between Algeria and France have been fraught since July 2024, when Macron voiced his support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara. Read also: French Committee Urges Protest Over Boualem Sansal's 10-Year Sentence Algeria supports the Polisario Front, a separatist group claiming independence in the Western Sahara region in southern Morocco. The arrest of Sansal added to the Algiers-Paris strain, as did Algeria's refusal, early in 2025, to accept Algerian influencers deported from France. In January, French President Emmanuel Macron ballistically criticized Algeria for imprisoning Sansal, denouncing the move as a 'disgrace.' Speaking before French ambassadors at the Élysée, Macron accused the Algerian authorities of denying the gravely ill author access to medical care. 'Algeria dishonors itself by preventing a gravely ill man from receiving proper care,' Macron stated. But recent efforts have aimed at easing the friction, including a phone call on March 31 between Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, which marked the beginning of renewed diplomatic dialogue. Still, it remains to be seen when and whether Algeria will indeed release Sansal in the coming days as part of ongoing efforts to ease tensions with France. Tags: Boualem Sansalfrance algeria tensionsfrance sansalhuman rightsMacron
Arab News
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Appeal in Algeria against jail term for writer Sansal
Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of IslamistsSansal was arrested in November and stood trial for undermining Algeria's territorial integrityALGIERS: The prosecutor's office in Dar El Beida near Algiers has appealed against a five-year jail sentence imposed on French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, the Algiers bar association told local whose case has been at the heart of a diplomatic storm with France, is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.'Boualem Sansal and the prosecutor's office appealed the day before Eid Al-Fitr,' marking the end of the month of Ramadan, which was celebrated Monday in Algeria, said Mohamed Baghdadi, an article on the TSA website writer's French lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP on Wednesday that Sansal had appealed, but that this did not prevent him from being pardoned if the appeal was was arrested in November and stood trial for undermining Algeria's territorial integrity, after saying in an interview with a far-right French media outlet that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial statement echoed a long-standing Moroccan claim, and was viewed by Algeria as an affront to its national March 27, a court in Dar El Beida sentenced him to a five-year prison term and fined him 500,000 Algerian dinars ($3,730).According to his French publisher, Sansal is 80 years Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show 'mercy and humanity' toward was quoted by TSA as saying that a pardon is 'only possible once the final sentence' is pronounced.'The case can be judged quickly' and a pardon granted afterwards, Baghdadi added, emphasising that Tebboune is 'sovereign in his decisions.'The date for the appeal has not yet been set, according to conviction and sentence further frayed ties between Paris and Algiers, already strained by migration issues and Macron's recognition last year of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is claimed by the Algeria-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.
Morocco World
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Boualem Sansal Appeals Five-Year Prison Sentence in Algeria
Rabat – Boualem Sansal has challenged his five-year prison sentence in Algeria, his lawyer in France, François Zimeray, confirmed to AFP on Wednesday. The 80-year-old French-Algerian writer, arrested in mid-November, remains at the center of growing diplomatic tensions. Zimeray stressed that filing an appeal does not rule out the possibility of a pardon. 'Under Article 91 of the Algerian Constitution, an appeal does not stand in the way of a presidential pardon,' he said. He also suggested that if a humanitarian release became an option, he would advise Sansal to withdraw the appeal. His remarks followed a phone conversation between French President Emmanuel Macron and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, two days earlier. The two leaders, seeking to repair strained ties, discussed Sansal's case along with plans to revive security and migration cooperation. Sansal's sentencing on March 27 by a court in Dar El Beida, near Algiers, came against a backdrop of heightened political tensions. The charges stem from statements he made to the French publication Frontières, where he suggested that Algeria had acquired Moroccan land during the colonial era. His arrest deepened the diplomatic rift between Paris and Algiers, already fragile since France recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2024. Algeria, a staunch supporter of the separatist group the Polisario Front, reacted sharply to the shift in French policy. Zimeray, acting on behalf of Sansal's French publisher Gallimard, had repeatedly sought permission to assist in the writer's legal defense but was never granted an Algerian visa. He continues to insist on his client's innocence, calling the charges of endangering state security unfounded. Despite the political tensions surrounding the case, recent diplomatic exchanges signal an attempt at rapprochement. But does this seemingly positive development mean that France and Algeria mean that Sansal's fate will be decided by legal arguments or by political calculations? Tags: Boualem Sansalfrance sansalFreedom of speechsansal
