France wants 'gesture of humanity' from Algeria after ministerial visit cools tensions

Fate of detained French-Algerian writer is closely tied to diplomatic relations between the countries

A banner in support of detained Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, is displayed on a bridge in Beziers, southern France. AFP

France hopes Algeria will release an 80-year-old French-Algerian writer as the countries resume regular relations, after a visit to Algiers by Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

Boualem Sansal last week appealed against a five-year prison sentence issued by an Algerian criminal court on March 27. He was arrested in November over national security charges, after he appeared to support Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara region in a media interview. His French lawyer has said the writer has cancer.

"In the face of Boualem Sansal's conviction, France is mobilised, determined and committed. He will never be alone," Mr Barrot wrote on X on Monday. "A gesture of humanity is necessary and expected."

Mr Barrot said his visit to Algiers on Sunday showed France's desire to "turn the page" after months of diplomatic tensions. He held talks with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for two and a half hours, as well as meeting Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf.

Mr Barrot said he held "frank" discussions on "all the topics that have preoccupied us in the past months", adding that regular relations, including intelligence sharing and judicial co-operation, have been resumed. "We are returning to normal," he added.

Mr Barrot's visit comes after months of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions that escalated last summer when President Emmanuel Macron recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara region. In July, Algeria withdrew its ambassador to France in protest against the move.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, left, is welcomed by Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf. EPA

Algeria's refusal to take back its citizens that are considered threats to national security in France strengthened criticism from hardliners including Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.

Tensions rose after it emerged that Algeria had repeatedly refused to take back an Algerian citizen living illegally in France, who in February was arrested over a deadly stabbing attack in the eastern city of Mulhouse.

After Mr Retailleau accused Algeria of humiliating France, French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou threatened to review a 1968 agreement that laid the foundation for Algerian immigration to France.

But diplomacy appears to have eased tensions, Mr Barrot said, in apparent criticism of Mr Retailleau's aggressive anti-Algeria stance. His visit came after Mr Macron's diplomatic adviser to the Middle East and North Africa, Anne-Claire Legendre, visited Algiers three times between January and March, Le Monde reported.

Mr Barrot said he had worked with Algerian officials to follow up on a phone call between Mr Macron and Mr Tebboune on March 31 "with seriousness, discretion and efficiency." During the call, Mr Macron had expressed concern over the fate of Mr Sansal, "given his age and state of health," according to a joint statement published at the time. Mr Macron had previously criticised his Prime Minister's proposal to unilaterally put an end to the 1968 agreement.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, centre, in Algiers. AFP

The issue of the return of Algerian citizens will be examined in a meeting between French prefects, who oversee immigration issues at a departmental level, and Algerian consuls in France, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. There are 20 Algerian consulates in France, which hosts an estimated four million to six million Algerians.

The statement said Mr Barrot held "in-depth" discussions on defence, security, intelligence and the judiciary. It added that intelligence sharing had resumed between France and Algeria on the Sahel region, which has been gripped by extremism. A series of coups in the region also led countries to turn away from former colonial power France.