France’s President Emmanuel Macron (L) speaks with Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as they pose for a family photograph with G7 heads of States and heads of delegation of Outreach countries in Savelletri, on 14 June 2024. [Getty]
Two Algerian social media influencers are set to go on trial Monday in France, in separate cities, on charges of “inciting violence” through TikTok videos, in a case that further strained relations between France and Algeria.
The men, known online as “Zazou Youssef” and “Doualemn,” allegedly called for violent action in both France and Algeria, prosecutors claim.
Doualemn, a 59-year-old janitor and father of two, will appear in court in Montpellier at 2 pm local time, facing charges of “incitement to commit a crime”.
Zazou Youssef, 25, is scheduled to stand trial in Brest for allegedly “endorsing a terrorist act”.
Since January, four influencers supportive of Algerian authorities have been arrested over videos that are suspected of calling for violent acts in France.
French authorities had previously sought to expel Doualemn after he posted a controversial video, but Algeria refused to cooperate, instead sending him back to Paris in what was widely seen as a diplomatic rebuke.
Upon his return, he was detained, even though a French court later suspended his deportation order.
He was released on 6 February but now faces trial for allegedly urging his 168,000 TikTok followers to “severely punish” a man believed to be in Algeria, according to Montpellier’s chief prosecutor, Fabrice Belargent.
Zazou Youssef, whose TikTok account has since been deleted, was arrested in Brest on 3 January after authorities flagged his content through Pharos, France’s online platform for reporting illegal activity.
Prosecutors say he made inflammatory statements in Arabic, with French subtitles, calling for terrorist attacks in France and violence in Algeria, particularly against opponents of the Algerian government.
Some of his videos, which date back to at least October 2024, amassed a significant following before his arrest.
Youssef, whose real name is Youcef A., has been under a deportation order since April 2024. He admitted to creating the videos, according to Brest’s public prosecutor.
Growing frictionÂ
The trials come just days after an Algerian national reportedly went on a stabbing rampage in Mulhouse, France, killing one person and wounding several others.
President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as an “Islamist terrorist act,” saying the suspect had been on a watch list and that French authorities had tried—unsuccessfully—to expel him to Algeria at least 10 times.
There was no immediate comment from Algeria’s presidency or foreign ministry.Â
Beyond security concerns, diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria have escalated over issues including the disputed Western Sahara territories and the imprisonment of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal.
Sansal, who has been jailed in Algeria for three months, began a hunger strike on 24 February “due to pressure exerted on him to change his lawyer,” according to his attorney, François Zimeray. Zimeray also said he had been denied a visa to visit his client in Algeria.
According to Le Monde, Algerian authorities may have taken issue with Sansal’s comments to Frontières, a French far-right media outlet, where he claimed that Moroccan territory had been reduced under French colonisation in favour of Algeria.
His imprisonment has drawn protests from French intellectuals and writers who argue the charges against him are baseless.
Some French media outlets suggest that Algeria is using Sansal’s case as a political lever against France amid ongoing diplomatic disputes—particularly over Paris’s recent pro-Morocco stance on Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the separatist Polisario Front.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told LCI television that France would have “no option but to retaliate” if “the Algerians continue to escalate” the row, citing restrictions on visas or development aid among possible measures.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, however, has dismissed France’s calls for Sansal’s release as “a scandalous affair aimed at rallying opposition against Algeria.”
Speaking to L’Opinion earlier this month, Tebboune accused France of using judicial manoeuvres to exert political pressure on Algeria. However, he added, that French officials always end up coming to Algiers, “and in the end, we find our modus operandi.”
