French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot began a visit to Algiers, capital of Algeria on Sunday, where he plans to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to solidify the recent improvement in bilateral relations after eight months of tension that nearly led to a breakdown.
Barrot arrived at around 9:00 by Paris time and had a nearly two hour meeting with his counterpart Ahmed Attaf, striving to resolve pressing issues. Following a brief pause, he is scheduled to meet the Algerian president early in the afternoon.
According to government newspaper El Moudjahid, since a phone call on 31 March between French President Emmanuel Macron and President Tebboune, the relations appear to be taking a constructive path.
Paris aims to capitalise on the diplomatic opening created a week ago to achieve results in security, immigration, and economic matters, Barrot stated prior to his visit.
This unprecedented crisis between Algeria and its former colonial power began in the summer of 2024 when Macron supported a plan for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for Western Sahara, claimed for 50 years by the Polisario independence movement supported by Algiers. Algeria immediately recalled its ambassador from Paris.
In autumn, the arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in Algiers for statements deemed a “threat to territorial integrity” escalated tensions further. They worsened in early 2025 when Paris demanded the expulsion of Algerian influencers, which Algiers rejected.
The situation peaked in late February when French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau pointed an accusatory finger at Algeria following a terrorist attack in France by an Algerian, who was under deportation orders refused by Algiers.
