Algeria expels twelve French agents, Paris threatens immediate retaliation

Algeria has ordered twelve officials from the French embassy to leave its territory within forty-eight hours, AFP reports. The decision follows the arrest in France of an Algerian consular agent suspected of involvement in the April 2024 kidnapping of Algerian influencer Amir Boukhors on French soil.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned the move as «unrelated to the ongoing judicial process» and warned of an immediate response should the expulsions be upheld. According to a diplomatic source, some of the targeted officials are from the French Ministry of the Interior, whose minister, Bruno Retailleau, is currently visiting Morocco.

Three individuals, including the consular agent, have been charged in Paris with kidnapping and unlawful detention in connection with a terrorist enterprise. The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the arrest as an «unacceptable development» and vowed to respond.

This escalation in tensions comes just a week after an attempted diplomatic thaw. Jean-Noël Barrot had referred to a «new phase» in Franco-Algerian relations following talks with his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. President Emmanuel Macron had previously declared the end of a major diplomatic crisis, sparked by France’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara last July.