TO A fragile improvement was anticipated, but it was not expected to be a letter. It was less than a week after a visit to Algiers by French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barot, who seemed to put France and Algeria on the road to the essential dialogue, for the relationship between the two councils. Not since the independence of Algeria in 1962, the abyss between the two countries seems so deep.
The facts of this sudden escalation are established. Furious about the sentence on April 12 or an agent of the Algerian Consulate as part of the judicial investigation on the kidnapping of an Algerian dissident in France, Algiers ordered the expulsion of 12 officials from the French embassy within 48 hours. Paris responded with a reciprocal measure, expelling 12 agents from Algerian diplomatic and consular organizations in France and remembering the French ambassador to Algiers for consultation.
The leaders of the two countries no longer seem to speak the same language. Even their interpretations of bilateral agreements and international conventions differ. Algiers is claiming a violation of the Vienna Convention, which governs diplomatic immunity; Paris is based on the same convention, whose article 31, paragraph C, establishes that the immunity of a diplomatic agent rises by acts carried out “out of its official functions”. Unless the kidnapping of opponents is part of the official functions of Algerian diplomatic personnel, the French justice system, which should be remembered to Algiers is independent, is justified by requesting the judgment of the suspects in a kidnapping case.
These disputes on the interpretation of legal texts reflect the depth of the misunderstanding of French alkyners, which is approaching a rupture point. Although with Emmanuel Macron, Argiers is dealing with the French president most open to Algeria since independence.
The Nature of the Algerian Government Likely Explains Why The Current Deadlock is concentrated on ISSUES RELATING TO SECURITY AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, WHETHER IT CONCERNS THE JUDGMENT OF THE CONSULAR AGENC, THE REFUSAL TO ADmit Orders Deportch Deportch Deportch Deportch Deportch Deportch Deportch Deportch Deportch Deportch Deportch Deportch Order the French writer-Algerio Boalem Sansal writer.
To do? Facing a hard line against diplomacy, or firmness against dialogue, leans towards demagogy. After months of distancing, a conclusion is clear: Neith the crisis or dialogue have yielded results. A form of dialogue remains essential, even if it is only to resume the execution of deportation orders. But other levers can be activated, in particular the association agreement with the European Union that Algiers wants to renegotiate. More and more isolated diplomatically in its region, Algiers cannot fight on all fronts.
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