As France’s presidential election scheduled for next spring draws closer, relations with Algeria have featured increasingly in debates among those seeking to contest the Socialist Party primary, set for Friday, October 9.
The debate, held from Sunday night into Monday and lasting more than three hours, brought together Socialist Party First Secretary Olivier Faure, former presidential candidate and head of the France-Algeria association Ségolène Royal, and lawmakers Jérôme Guedj and Emmanuel Maurel. The participants also criticised President Emmanuel Macron, holding him responsible for worsening ties with Algeria, which they described as a partner of France.
During a discussion broadcast by BFM TV, Faure sharply challenged Macron’s foreign policy, particularly towards Algeria and the Sahel. He said France had lost ground in Algeria and called for more dialogue with the country, pointing to the global energy crisis. He also questioned why France had been unable to rebuild partnerships with several African countries that had turned away from Paris, saying France had given the impression that it was not sufficiently present.
On France Inter on Monday morning, October 5, Royal rejected journalist Benjamin Duhamel’s attempt to prompt her to describe the Algerian authorities as authoritarian. Duhamel had come from CNews. Royal said it was for the Algerian people to decide who governed them and argued that attention should also be paid to events in France. She cited the way police were treating 14-year-old secondary-school students during street protests and described some scenes in Paris as barbaric, prompting a heated exchange with the journalist.
Royal also rejected the use of the cases involving Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal and sports journalist Christophe Gleizes to condemn the Algerian authorities. She noted that Gleizes had admitted committing an offence and asked the justice system for forgiveness. She also said the Algerian consul was still being held in Paris and questioned whether that was reasonable. In response to criticism of Algeria, she pointed to the pope’s visit to the country and to the visit the previous week by the energy ministers of Italy, Germany and Austria, who signed an agreement to transport green hydrogen from Algeria to their countries.
Royal warned that damaging relations between Paris and Algiers could harm the interests of French companies operating in Algeria, saying hundreds had gone bankrupt. She also stressed France’s need for Algerian energy amid the global energy crisis and referred to events in the Arab Gulf, which she linked to what she called the Israeli-American aggression against Iran. Royal has repeatedly urged Macron to repair relations with Algeria before it is too late.