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After several months of tense relations, French President Emmanuel Macron is showing his desire to rebuild a peaceful dialogue with Algeria. A few days before key bilateral visits, France is banking on security, migration and economic cooperation to turn the page on the crisis and prepare a lasting partnership.
On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, which closed yesterday in Johannesburg, Mr. Macron affirmed his desire to “build a peaceful relationship for the future”, while recognizing that “many things need to be corrected”. According to the French head of state, current relations between the two countries are far from reflecting the potential of a strategic partnership. “On many issues, whether security, migration or economic, we are not in a satisfactory situation,” he said. These words come in a context where Paris is seeking to relaunch dialogue after several months of almost total rupture between the security services and the ministries concerned.
The first signs of diplomatic warming appeared when the Secretary General of the Quai d’Orsay went to Algiers on Thursday for a working visit, preparatory to the upcoming visit of the French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, expected before the end of November. This mission aims to relaunch bilateral cooperation in the areas of migration and security, while direct exchanges between services had been interrupted for several months.
Macron also denounced the exploitation of the Algerian question for internal political purposes in France. “If we let these actors dictate the agenda on each side, there is no chance of progress,” he warned, pointing out the anti-Algerian currents active in the French public debate.
To break the impasse, the French president detailed the process he put in place, namely coordinated work between ministers and directors of the services concerned, with technical exchanges at the level of the secretaries general of the ministries, as well as bilateral meetings between ministers on priority files. Emmanuel Macron recalled the importance of consistency in efforts, noting that lasting cooperation is based on patient and respectful dialogue between the two States.
One of the turning points in this approach is the break with the previous line embodied by Bruno Retailleau, a supporter of the balance of power. Replaced by Laurent Nuñez at the beginning of October, he adopted a more peaceful and constructive speech.
The French president specified that concrete actions will be implemented to strengthen the partnership. Visits by senior officials, technical exchanges and institutional coordination should help open up new perspectives. He also stressed that mutual respect and constancy were the keys to overcoming tensions inherited from the past and building a stronger relationship.
This posture comes as the Algerian question continues to mark the French political scene, with internal debates often polarized by historical legacies and migration issues. Mr. Macron is now proposing a pragmatic and peaceful approach, breaking with the strategy of the balance of power and banking on the diplomacy of results.