Algeria has ordered a dozen French officials to leave the country within 48 hours, increasing diplomatic tension between the two countries.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot asserted on Monday that the order is linked to the recent arrest of three Algerian nationals suspected of kidnapping a high-profile critic of the Algerian government in Paris last year.
Barrot asked the Algerian authorities to “abandon these expulsion measures”, saying if they persisted with their decision, France would have no choice but to “respond immediately”.
A diplomatic source told the AFP news agency that the 12 included some members of the French Ministry of the Interior.
Last week, French prosecutors indicted three Algerians, including a consular official, on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of Amir Boukhors.
The men, who were placed in pre-trial detention, are also being prosecuted for “terrorist” conspiracy.
An opponent of the Algerian government, the social media influencer has more than one million followers on TikTok under the name of “Amir DZ”.
Boukhors, who was granted asylum by France in 2023, was taken in a Paris suburb in April last year and released the following day, according to his lawyer.
Algiers is demanding he return to face trial, having issued nine international arrest warrants against him on accusations of fraud and terror offences.
Strained relations
The diplomatic spat threatens to upend recent efforts to normalise strained relations between France and its former North African colony, including a visit to Algeria by Barrot a week ago.
Last July, French President Emmanuel Macron angered Algeria by recognising a plan for the autonomy of the Western Sahara region under Moroccan sovereignty.
Tensions mounted further last month when an Algerian court sentenced French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal to five years in jail for undermining national unity, prompting a call for his freedom from Macron.
Just last week, following talks with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Barrot had declared that ties were back to normal.
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said on Monday that should Algiers follow through with its order, it would be the first expulsion of French diplomats since Algeria gained independence in 1962.
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