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The departure of the former Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, suggests a hope of a thaw in relations between the two countries, which have reached the breaking point. The resumption of dialogue between Algeria and France seems to be an orientation included in the roadmap of the new French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nunez. As proof, three clues clearly contribute to supporting this thesis, one week after the appointment of the new French government.
This is how consistent sources in Paris raise the possibility of a lifting of consular restrictions. Firstly, three of the twelve Algerian consuls in France could obtain their approvals from the French authorities in the coming days. Which constitutes an important step when we know that these approvals had been frozen for several months, considerably hampering the consular affairs of Algerian nationals and the diaspora.
In addition, the contentious issue on the diplomatic bag in airport spaces, previously set up from scratch, is on the verge of being definitively settled, allowing Algerian diplomats to return to the practices and rules defined by the Vienna Convention on consular and diplomatic relations between States, which Retailleau had despised and trampled underfoot.
Finally, recent facilitations have reportedly been introduced in obtaining visas for Algerian students wishing to continue their studies in France, as well as residence permits for researchers, whose academic or intellectual work requires a fairly long period of time in research centers in France.
These postures of the French authorities, even if they call for caution given the complexity of relations between the two shores, nevertheless break with those of Bruno Retailleau, who made Algeria an electoral springboard.
Champion of the extreme right and fervent promoter of Algeria-phobic politics in France, Retailleau is known to be the real saboteur of any rapprochement between the two countries. He did everything to prevent the slightest gesture of dialogue, going so far as to create a crisis at the highest summit of the French state and rekindle permanent tension with President Emmanuel Macron and his Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He used and abused all forms of blackmail, administrative pressure, harassment, blocking and even police actions in order to exploit the justice system of his country. Now qualified as Mr. Algeria, Retailleau has pulled out all the artillery possible in his infernal rage, from the OQTF file (obligation to leave French territory), to visas prohibited to Algerian nationals, to the refusal of residence permits, going so far as to deny the consular agreements between the two countries, trampling underfoot the clauses of international conventions governing diplomatic relations between States.
The Retailleau lock has been blown
It is thanks to this belligerent political strategy against the Algerians that Retailleau was able to reap some political dividends within his current, with the aim of being a candidate for the next presidential election.
This time, the Retailleau lock was blown. His successor, Laurent Nunez, waited only a week to express his point of view on the crisis between Algeria and France, at least in his field. A point of view that stands out.
During a program “Political Questions” on France Inter, France Info and Le Monde, broadcast the day before yesterday, Laurent Nunez immediately ruled out any questioning of the famous agreement of December 1968. According to his words, such an option was not “on the agenda”, neither of his department nor of his government.
According to the new Minister of the Interior, things must “move” in bilateral relations. “The current crisis with Algeria means that we no longer have a security relationship with them, security exchanges,” he said, adding that “for a Minister of the Interior, it’s a problem, it’s a big problem. “. However, he clarified that he had not made contact with his Algerian counterpart.
Laurent Nunez’s exit is completely empty of any verbal attack, even indirect, against the Algerian authorities, while the question of the OQTF has become the critical issue in this diplomatic crisis. “We have 40% Algerians in administrative detention centers. We will obviously have to resume the flow of passes. I’m going to get on with it,” he said.
His statements, even minimal, are already considered a demarcation in relation to Retailleau’s aggressive anti-Algerian policy. The latter has continued, since his appointment in September 2024, to brandish the threat of a “standoff” with Algiers if it does not cooperate on deportations to the borders.
It is obvious that the Algerian government rejected Retailleau’s Algerian-phobic obsessions and his comminatory and aggressive tones, designating him as solely responsible for the deterioration of bilateral relations.
As a reminder, Laurent Nunez does not have a pure political profile or presidential ambitions like Retailleau. Former Paris police prefect, his profile and management style completely differ from the bellicose Retailleau.
For observers, this exit of Laurent Nunez is like a signal of an imminent resumption of contact, at least on consular and migratory issues.