Latest news with #diplomaticexpulsion
Asharq Al-Awsat
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
France Expels Algerian Diplomats in Tit-for-tat Decision
France said Wednesday it will expel Algerian diplomats in response to Algeria's decision to do the same. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement it had summoned Algerian officials to inform them of the decision, describing it as 'strict reciprocity' after 15 French officials were expelled from Algiers on Sunday. France called on Algerian authorities to 'demonstrate responsibility and to return to a demanding and constructive dialogue that had been initiated by our authorities, in the interest of both countries.' 'The Algerians wanted to send back our agents; we are sending theirs back,' French Foreign Minister Noël Barrot said on Wednesday, speaking to French broadcaster BFMTV. Algeria said it expelled French officials on Sunday because France had broken procedures, including in how it assigned new diplomats to replace a different set that were expelled last month. Despite economic ties and security cooperation, France and Algeria for decades have clashed over issues ranging from immigration to the painful legacy of French colonialism. Wednesday's decision came as Kabyle opposition figure Aksel Bellabbaci walked free after a Paris appeals court shunned Algeria's request to extradite him on terrorism charges. The 42-year-old vice president of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabyle (MAK) has lived in France since 2012.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France expels Algerian officials in tit-for-tat measure, minister says ties 'totally blocked'
PARIS (Reuters) - France's foreign ministry summoned a senior Algerian diplomat on Wednesday to inform him that Paris was expelling Algerians holding diplomatic passports without visas in a response to a decision by Algiers to expel 15 French officials. "France reserves the right to take additional measures depending on how the situation evolves," the ministry said in a statement after summoning Algeria's charge d'affaires. It did not say how many people were expelled. France's ties with its former colony have long been complicated, but took a turn for the worse last year when President Emmanuel Macron angered Algeria by backing Morocco's position over the disputed Western Sahara region. There had been a short-lived thaw in tensions last month after Barrot visited Algiers, but a week later tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions once again strained ties. Algeria's press agency APS reported on Monday that France's charge d'affaires had been informed that 15 French diplomatic agents were in irregular positions and would be expelled. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told BFM television on Wednesday that ties were now "totally blocked."
Reuters
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
France expels Algerian officials in tit-for-tat measure, minister says ties 'totally blocked'
PARIS, May 14 (Reuters) - France's foreign ministry summoned a senior Algerian diplomat on Wednesday to inform him that Paris was expelling Algerians holding diplomatic passports without visas in a response to a decision by Algiers to expel 15 French officials. "France reserves the right to take additional measures depending on how the situation evolves," the ministry said in a statement after summoning Algeria's charge d'affaires. It did not say how many people were expelled. France's ties with its former colony have long been complicated, but took a turn for the worse last year when President Emmanuel Macron angered Algeria by backing Morocco's position over the disputed Western Sahara region. There had been a short-lived thaw in tensions last month after Barrot visited Algiers, but a week later tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions once again strained ties. Algeria's press agency APS reported on Monday that France's charge d'affaires had been informed that 15 French diplomatic agents were in irregular positions and would be expelled. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told BFM television on Wednesday that ties were now "totally blocked."
Al Arabiya
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
France vows strong response as Algeria plans more expulsions
France's foreign minister on Monday vowed an immediate and strong response from Paris after Algeria revealed plans to expel more French officials from Algerian territory after a similar move last month. Relations between Algeria and France, the former colonial power in Africa's largest nation by land area, have been beset by a series of problems in recent months despite attempts by President Emmanuel Macron to promote reconciliation. 'This is an incomprehensible and brutal decision,' French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters in Normandy. 'We will respond immediately, firmly, and in a manner proportionate to the harm it is doing to our interests.' 'It is a decision that I deplore because it is neither in the interests of Algeria nor in the interests of France,' he added. Algeria summoned the charge d'affaires of the French embassy in Algiers on Sunday to notify him of the expulsions of the French officials from Algerian territory, a French diplomatic source, asking not to be named, told AFP. The officials concerned are on temporary reinforcement missions, the source said, without specifying how many were concerned or when the expulsions would take effect. France in April ordered the expulsion of 12 Algerian diplomats and consular officials and recalled its ambassador after Algeria ordered 12 French officials to leave in response to the arrest of an Algerian official in France. Relations became strained last year when France recognized 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. As well as contemporary problems, relations are shadowed by the 1954-1962 war that led to Algeria's independence from France and was marked by violations including arbitrary killings and detentions carried out by French forces.
