Turning Up the Heat: France Strips 40 Algerian Diplomats of Privileges
23rd July 2025
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has decided to implement his threats against the Algerian government and is going on the offensive: forty Algerian dignitaries are to have privileges they have enjoyed for many years withdrawn. The French government intends to show its anger at the Algerian authorities’ deadlock on the issue of deportations and the case of writer Boualem Sansal.
Discussions between Paris and Algiers have stalled, and no improvement is in sight.
In the space of a month, Algiers has refused to accept no fewer than four Algerian nationals deported from France. Le Journal du Dimanche revealed that one of them, known for Islamist radicalisation, was deported to Algeria on July 17th, but the authorities cited the lack of a consular pass and refused him entry into the country. However, he had a valid passport that should have allowed him to return to Algeria without difficulty. Despite this, the individual returned to France on the same day, dealing a blow to the minister of the interior, whose deportation orders ultimately prove ineffective. Three other men have experienced the same scenario and are now crowding administrative detention centres on French soil.