Crises continue to flare up in relations between France and Algeria, where anti-French sentiment remains deeply entrenched. In a public statement in Algiers, French Ambassador Stéphane Romatet asserted that France wished to issue 250,000 additional visas to Algerian nationals in order to get relations between the two countries “back on track”.
The announcement immediately sparked a wave of outrage in France, given the negative perception of Algerian immigration there and the fact that this figure appears to contradict the firm stance the government has taken in recent months in its standoff with Algiers.
A Diplomatic Firestorm
Faced with the outcry, the Élysée Palace and the government quickly tried to put out the fire. Emmanuel Macron assured the public that there was “no specific numerical target” regarding visas issued to Algeria, while several members of the government dismissed the ambassador’s remarks as a gaffe or a misinterpretation. But the damage was done.
An ambassador does not set France’s policy on his own: when he speaks officially in the country where he represents the Republic, he normally does so in accordance with the guidelines he has been given. Both his statement and the subsequent denial therefore lend credibility to the concerns.
If the ambassador spoke incorrectly, why such a mistake on such a sensitive subject? And if he simply expressed what he had been asked to say, why did the Élysée Palace deem it necessary to backtrack after the controversy?
This incident comes amid particularly tense relations between Paris and Algiers. For over a year, provocations by the Algerian regime have been on the rise. The repeated refusal to take back its nationals who are subject to an order to leave French territory has become a major source of tension. On several occasions, French authorities have denounced Algiers’ lack of cooperation regarding the consular laissez-passer essential for carrying out deportations.
Added to this are the Algerian authorities’ regular verbal attacks against France, the recall of ambassadors and successive diplomatic crises. More recently, tensions showed no signs of improving, with the detention of French journalist Christophe Gleizes, convicted by the Algerian courts in a case widely denounced as politically motivated. This followed the imprisonment of a leading intellectual figure, the writer Boualem Sansal, who was only released after obscure negotiations that revealed France’s powerlessness.
In this context, suggesting a massive increase in visas could only be perceived as yet another sign of weakness. While the government claims to want to establish a balance of power with Algiers, the message sent was the exact opposite: despite the diplomatic humiliations, despite the refusals to cooperate and despite the accumulated disputes, France will continue to throw its doors wide open.
Immigration Numbers Fuel the Backlash
The unease is all the more striking given that this controversy comes against a backdrop of growing questions regarding the impact of Algerian immigration in France. According to INSEE data, nearly 39% of Algerian immigrants living in France are neither employed, nor in school, nor retired – a proportion that fuels the debate over their economic integration.
MEP Marion Maréchal also cited several statistics that she believes are indicative of this situation. According to the figures she shared on X, one in two Algerian immigrants lives in public housing; Algerian nationals constitute the largest group of foreign nationals in French prisons; and approximately one in four undocumented immigrants apprehended is Algerian. She also points out that nearly 65% of French requests for readmission or deportation to Algeria are reportedly rejected by the Algerian authorities.
These figures, widely circulated in public debate, fuel an increasingly widespread belief on the right: far from representing an economic benefit for France, Algerian immigration is said to place a heavy burden on public finances, public housing, social policies and security measures.
It is precisely this accumulation of factors that explains the scale of the outcry sparked by the ambassador’s statements. Generosity toward a state that systematically refuses to take back some of its convicted nationals is no longer acceptable. Nor is opening the borders to individuals who are draining the nation’s wealth. Today, the Algerian community in France numbers close to 2.7 million people – far more than the number of French citizens in Algeria prior to it gaining independence in 1962.
France's Authority in Question
The government responds that it is out of the question to lump all Algerians together with the problems caused by certain individuals. Emmanuel Macron has also rejected accusations of “laxity”, asserting that France is pursuing a firm policy while seeking to maintain a constructive relationship with Algiers.
This line is proving increasingly difficult to defend. For months, announcements of a firm stance have alternated with conciliatory gestures, creating the impression of a hesitant policy. Each diplomatic crisis seems to end with a return to the status quo, without tangible progress on the main points of disagreement: deportations, cooperation on immigration, historical memory and French detainees in Algeria.
The Franco-Algerian relationship is emblematic of Emmanuel Macron’s foreign policy record: the authority of the French state is repeatedly put to the test in relations where Paris all too often gives the impression of being at the mercy of events rather than in control of them.