Tensions with Algeria: Why is Emmanuel Macron toughening his stance after advocating calm?

The President of the Republic intends to "suspend" visa exemptions for Algerian diplomats, in order to force Algiers to make several concessions.

He explains that he has "no other choice." In a letter sent to the Prime Minister on Wednesday, August 6, revealed by Le Figaro and which franceinfo was able to consult, Emmanuel Macron asked François Bayrou to adopt "a more firm approach" towards Algeria. After months of tensions between the two countries, the President of the Republic is raising his voice and calling for the suspension of a 2013 bilateral agreement, which exempts Algerian diplomats from visa requirements to enter France.

The President of the Republic's letter comes in an extremely tense context, the result of a cascade of declarations, measures, and responses between France and Algeria. A first surge of fever had occurred at the end of July 2024, with Emmanuel Macron's support for a Moroccan plan for Western Sahara. Paris now considers this autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as "the only basis" for resolving the conflict that has pitted Rabat against the Polisario Front separatists for half a century. A position decried by Algeria, a supporter of the Polisario Front against Morocco. Algeria then recalled its ambassador to France.

The crises have not ceased since, notably surrounding the arrest of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in November 2024. Then the conviction and imprisonment, in June 2025, of the French journalist Christophe Gleizes . In early April 2025, just a few days after the visit to Algeria of the head of French diplomacy, tensions had already risen a notch with the indictment of three men accused of having kidnapped a year earlier Amir Boukhors, known as Amir DZ, an Algerian influencer benefiting from political asylum in France. Among these defendants was a member of the Algerian consular services, which provoked a strong reaction from Algiers.

In response to these arrests, Algiers chose to expel 12 French embassy officials from its territory on April 13. Emmanuel Macron decreed two days later the dismissal of 12 Algerian consular officials in retaliation. In mid-May, France went further by demanding visas from Algerian officials who were even holding diplomatic passports, in the name of its "graduated response." In his letter sent Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron formalized this new regime, which also applies to the private travel of Algerian dignitaries on French soil.

This is perhaps the situation that seems to irritate the head of state the most. In his letter, he confides to François Bayrou his "concern" about Algeria's refoulement of its nationals subject to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) . The first cases emerged in January, notably in the case of the influencer Doualemn . Then with the attack in Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), which left one dead and two injured on February 22, and whose suspect is an Algerian who had been the subject of several readmission requests, all refused by his country of origin.

Emmanuel Macron also cites this attack after having expressed his fears concerning the "most dangerous Algerian nationals, leaving prison or placed in administrative detention centers and who can no longer be expelled, due to lack of cooperation from the Algerian authorities." None of the 18 Algerian consulates established in France collaborate with the state services, he regrets.

After months of diplomatic crisis, Emmanuel Macron intends to apply more pressure on Algeria. To ensure that these instructions are applied effectively, he is also asking the countries of the Schengen area to take similar measures, and to inform France before issuing "short-stay visas for the Algerian officials in question and the passports covered by [the 2013 agreement] " . He finally calls on François Bayrou to immediately use the "visa-readmission lever" , a tool provided for by the 2024 immigration law which also allows for the refusal of " long-stay visas to all types of applicants".

In his letter, the head of state assures that he is still seeking to "restore effective and ambitious relations with Algeria that meet the interests of the French people, a large part of whom maintains a link with this country that cannot be weakened by these disputes."

To this end, he sets out a roadmap for "cooperation," or rather a list of French expectations: the resumption of consular hearings, the end of deportations, but also the return of the "resources" of the French embassy. It remains to be seen whether Algiers will react to this letter, and whether or not it will agree to normalize its relations with Paris.