The departure of the former Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, offers hope for a thaw in relations between the two countries, which had reached a breaking point. The resumption of dialogue between Algeria and France appears to be a direction included in the roadmap of the new French Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez. Evidently, three indicators support this thesis, one week after the appointment of the new French government.
Sources in Paris suggest the possibility of lifting consular restrictions. First, three of the twelve Algerian consuls in France could receive their approvals from the French authorities in the coming days. This is an important step, given that these approvals had been frozen for several months, significantly hindering consular affairs for Algerian nationals and the diaspora.
Furthermore, the contentious issue concerning diplomatic bags in airport areas, which had previously been fabricated, is about to be definitively resolved. This will allow Algerian diplomats to return to the practices and rules defined by the Vienna Convention on Consular and Diplomatic Relations between States, which Retailleau had disregarded and trampled on.
Finally, recent facilitations have reportedly been introduced for obtaining visas for Algerian students wishing to pursue their studies in France, as well as residence permits for researchers whose academic or intellectual work requires a fairly long stay in research centers in France.
These postures of the French authorities, although calling for caution given the complexity of relations between the two shores, nevertheless break with those of Bruno Retailleau, who made Algeria an electoral springboard.
A champion of the far right and a fervent promoter of anti-Algerian policy in France, Retailleau is known as the true 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 level of the French state and to revive ongoing tension with President Emmanuel Macron and his Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He used and abused all forms of blackmail, administrative pressure, harassment, blockades, and even police actions to manipulate his country’s justice system. Now known as Mr. Algeria, Retailleau unleashed all possible artillery in his furious rage, from the files on OQTF (obligation de sortie du territoire français) — orders to leave French territory — to visas denied to Algerian nationals, to residence permit refusals, going as far as to renounce consular agreements between the two countries, trampling on clauses of international conventions governing diplomatic relations between states.
It is thanks to this belligerent political strategy against Algerians that Retailleau was able to reap some political dividends within his faction, with a view to running for the next presidential election.
This time, the Retailleau blockade has been lifted. His successor, Laurent Nunez, waited only one week to express his point of view on the crisis between Algeria and France, at least within his domain. A viewpoint that stands out.
During a broadcast of ‘Political Questions’ by France Inter, France Info, and Le Monde, aired the day before yesterday, Laurent Nunez immediately dismissed any challenge to the famous December 1968 agreement. According to him, such an option was not ‘on the agenda,’ neither for his department nor for his government.
According to the new Minister of the Interior, there needs to be movement in bilateral relations. ‘The current crisis with Algeria means we no longer have security cooperation with them, no security exchanges,’ he stated, adding that ‘for an Interior Minister, this is a problem, a big problem.’ However, he specified that he has not yet contacted his Algerian counterpart.
Laurent Nunez’s statement is completely devoid of any verbal attacks, even indirect, against Algerian authorities, whereas the issue of OQTF (obligation de sortie du territoire français) has become the critical matter in this diplomatic crisis. ‘We have 40% Algerians in administrative detention centers. Obviously, we will need to resume the flow of travel documents. I will work on it,’ he said.
His declarations, even minimal, are already considered a break from Retailleau’s aggressive anti-Algerian policy. Since his appointment in September 2024, Retailleau has constantly wielded the threat of a ‘showdown’ with Algiers if it does not cooperate on deportations.
It is clear that the Algerian government has rejected Retailleau’s anti-Algerian obsessions and his threatening and aggressive tones, blaming him as the sole responsible party for the deterioration of bilateral relations.
As a reminder, Laurent Nunez does not have a purely political profile or presidential ambitions like Retailleau. A former Paris police prefect, his profile and style of management are completely different from the belligerent Retailleau.
For observers, this statement from Laurent Nunez signals an imminent resumption of contact, at least on consular and migration issues.