Tensions between France and Algeria worsen. This Monday, May 12, 2025, Algiers decided to expulsion from several additional French officials, according to diplomatic sources cited by AFP. This new measurement comes almost a month after the dismissal of twelve French agents, against a background of persistent tension between the two countries.
On Sunday, the business manager of the French Embassy in Algiers was summoned by the Algerian authorities to be notified this decision. The agents concerned carried out temporary reinforcement missions. Their exact number and the date of their departure remain unknown at this stage.
The official news agency APS reported that Algeria requires the “immediate repatriation” of French employees designated under conditions deemed “irregular”. Algiers criticizes Paris to “blatant breaches” in diplomatic rules in Paris, in particular the absence of notification or accreditation for the assignment of fifteen French agents in recent months.
In parallel, Algiers denounces the blocking of the approval of two new Algerian general consuls in Paris and Marseille, as well as seven other consuls, whose procedures have been unanswered for more than five months.
These measures are part of a marked degradation of bilateral relations. After the expeditious expulsion of the first twelve French officials in April, France had responded with similar sanctions. Since then, the dialogue between the two capitals has been at a standstill.
Jean-Noël Barrot, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, confirmed Sunday that the relationship is “completely frozen”. The French ambassador to Algeria, Stéphane Romatet, recalled in Paris in mid-April, has still not returned to his post.
