France will expel Algerian diplomats in response to Algiers' decision to expel French officials, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced on Wednesday, signaling a further deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two nations.
France’s relationship with its former colony has long been fraught, but tensions escalated last year when President Emmanuel Macron sparked outrage in Algiers by expressing support for Morocco’s stance on the disputed Western Sahara region.
According to French media reports, Barrot told BFMTV that he would summon Algeria’s chargé d’affaires to formally convey France’s response, describing it as “perfectly proportionate at this point” to Algeria’s actions, which he labeled “unjustified and unjustifiable.”
He added that relations between the two countries are now “totally blocked.”
Algeria's press agency APS reported on Monday that France's charge d'affaires had been informed that 15 French diplomatic agents were in irregular positions and would be expelled.
"The departure of agents on temporary missions is unjustified and as I did last month, we will respond immediately and in a strong and proportionate manner," Barrot told reporters in Normandy.
France in mid-April recalled its ambassador to Algiers for consultations and expelled 12 agents serving in the Algerian consular and diplomatic network in France after Algiers had expelled 12 French diplomatic staff.
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