Algeria on Saturday rejected “inadmissible interference” in its affairs, hours after recalling its ambassador from Paris following comments by French President Emmanuel Macron reported by French and Algerian media.
The Algerian Presidential Office said in a statement that it had withdrawn its ambassador following media reports of the French leader’s comments, which had not been denied.
The French daily Le Monde reported that Macron had made critical remarks about the former French colony during a meeting with descendants of figures from Algeria’s war of independence on Thursday.
Photo: AP
Macron reportedly said that the country was ruled by a “political-military system” and described Algeria as having an “official history” that had been “totally rewritten,” the paper reported.
He said that this history was “not based on truths,” but “on a discourse of hatred toward France,” Le Monde wrote, adding that Macron made clear that he was not referring to Algerian society as a whole, but to the ruling elite.
The statement from the Algerian presidency said: “Following remarks that have not been denied, which several French sources have attributed by name to [Macron], Algeria expresses its categorical rejection of the inadmissible interference in its internal affairs.”
Macron also spoke out on current Algerian politics.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was “trapped in a system which is very tough,” the French president was quoted as saying.
“You can see that the Algerian system is tired, it has been weakened by the Hirak,” he added, referring to the pro-democracy movement that forced Tebboune’s predecessor, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, from power in 2019 after two decades at the helm.
It is the second time that Algeria has recalled an ambassador from France.
It also recalled its ambassador in May last year, after French media broadcast a documentary about the Hirak.
Saturday’s move comes amid tension over a French decision to sharply reduce the number of visas it grants to people from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
France said that the decision, which it announced on Tuesday, had been made necessary by the former colonies’ failure to do enough to allow illegal migrants to return.
The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday summoned French Ambassador to Algeria Francois Gouyette and handed him a “formal protest” note concerning the visa ruling.
It called the visa reduction an “unfortunate act” that caused “confusion and ambiguity as to its motivation and its scope.”
Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita called the French move “unjustified.”
Tunisian President Kais Saied expressed disappointment with the decision in a telephone call with Macron on Saturday, his office said, adding that the French leader had said it could be revised.
French government spokesman Gabriel Attal told Europe 1 radio on Tuesday that the visa reduction decision was “unprecedented.”
Paris made that choice, he said, because Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia “are refusing to take back nationals who we do not want or cannot keep in France.”
The radio said Macron took the decision a month ago after failed diplomatic efforts with the three North African countries.
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