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France announced on Wednesday that it has expelled Algerian diplomats in a retaliatory move following Algeria’s expulsion of 15 French officials earlier this week, marking an escalation in a simmering diplomatic standoff between the two nations.
In an official statement, France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs confirmed it had summoned Algerian representatives to formally communicate its decision. The ministry emphasized that the measure was taken in the spirit of “strict reciprocity,” in response to the expulsions carried out by Algiers on Sunday.
While the French government did not disclose the exact number of Algerian officials being expelled, it underscored its call for Algeria to act responsibly and resume the “demanding and constructive dialogue” that French authorities had initiated in recent months. Paris stressed that renewed cooperation would serve the mutual interests of both countries.
This diplomatic clash also disrupts a 2013 agreement that permitted holders of diplomatic passports to travel between France and Algeria without needing visas — a sign of how far relations have deteriorated.
Algeria’s decision to expel the French diplomats stemmed from what it described as France’s failure to adhere to established diplomatic protocols. According to Algerian officials, France breached procedural norms in the appointment of new envoys, who were meant to replace a separate group of diplomats previously expelled last month.
Despite longstanding economic and security ties, France and Algeria have frequently found themselves at odds over contentious issues ranging from immigration policy to the fraught legacy of French colonial rule in Algeria.
One of the more recent sources of tension arose last year when France shifted its historical neutrality on the Western Sahara issue by expressing support for Morocco’s sovereignty plan over the disputed region. Algeria, which considers the territory to be Africa’s last remaining colony, strongly opposes Moroccan control and instead supports the Polisario Front — a pro-independence movement that it backs both politically and materially.
This ongoing diplomatic row threatens to undermine more than $12 billion in annual bilateral trade and could disrupt the travel and residency arrangements for hundreds of thousands of Algerian-born French residents, many of whom maintain deep familial and economic ties between the two countries.
As both nations dig in their heels, the spat risks further weakening what has already become a fragile and increasingly contentious relationship — one fraught with historical grievances and modern geopolitical rivalries.
