What post-independence deals with Algeria is France scrapping?

After years of attempted reconciliation, France is now determined to punish Algerian officials for what it perceives as a deliberate effort to ‘humiliate‘ Paris after Algeria refused to accept the deportation of one of its nationals.

Over the weekend, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced plans to abolish an agreement that allows members of the “Algerian nomenklatura” holding official or diplomatic passports to travel to France without visas.  

Darmanin’s “retaliatory measure” came in response to the recent arrest of a 59-year-old Algerian influencer known as “Doualemn” in Montpellier, after he posted a video on social media ‘inciting’ violence against critics of the Algerian government.

The influencer was deported to Algeria last week but was sent back to France the same day. On Sunday, 12 January, a judge extended his detention by 26 days.  

“We are in a very critical moment and this humiliation that they want to make us suffer is not acceptable,” said Darmanin in a speech over the weekend.

Algeria‘s Foreign Ministry condemned the expulsion as “arbitrary and abusive,” rejecting France’s accusations of “escalation” and “humiliation.”  

In 2013, Paris and Algiers signed an intergovernmental agreement permitting members of the “Algerian nomenklatura” holding official or diplomatic passports to travel freely to France without visas.  

“This 2013 agreement allows thousands of people with Algerian official or diplomatic passports to enter France without visas,” Darmanin explained.  

The newly appointed Justice Minister argued that targeting Algeria’s decision-makers responsible for the perceived “humiliation” would be “smarter, more effective, and can be implemented swiftly.”  

Calls to terminate Algeria’s privileged status aren’t new.

Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had previously advocated for abolishing the 1968 agreement that grants Algerians unique rights regarding travel, residency, and employment in France.  

The 1968 agreement, signed shortly after Algeria’s independence from French colonisation, was part of Paris’s attempt to maintain “friendship” with the newly independent country, even after more than a century of brutal colonial rule.  

However, the agreement has faced growing criticism from some French officials, particularly from the far-right, who argue it is outdated or overly generous.  

“This agreement, which has already been revised four times, is now somewhat outdated,” Darmanin added over the weekend.  

What is the 1968 agreement?  

The French Ministry of the Interior describes it plainly: “Entry into France is facilitated for Algerians.” And by facilitated, they mean uniquely so.  

Signed on 27 December 1968, just six years after Algeria’s independence from France following the Evian Accords, the agreement reflected an era of post-colonial cooperation.  

It governs the circulation, employment, and residency of Algerian nationals and their families, granting them a legal status distinct from other foreign nationals.  

Although revised in 1985, 1994, and 2001, the agreement’s core privileges remain.

For instance, Algerians can access a coveted 10-year residency permit after just three years of living in France. For most other foreign nationals, the requirement is five years.  

As tensions between Paris and Algiers escalate, calls to scrap the agreement have grown louder and extended beyond the far-right to include self-proclaimed centrists.

Last June, former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe called for renegotiation, and in November, Bruno Retailleau of the Republican Party labelled the accords “obsolete,” accusing Algeria of “arrogance” in its dealings with France.  

Still, the agreements’ bilateral nature presents a significant obstacle for Paris to cancel.

“If Algeria refuses to renegotiate, then nothing will happen,” Mervé Erol, an immigration lawyer, confirmed to French media Le Parisien.

Algeria-France: A fractured relationship  

The long-fractured yet carefully managed relationship between France and Algeria took a sharp turn last summer, with France’s pivot towards Morocco–undermining decades of ‘delicate rapprochement‘.  

According to French media Le Point, the final rupture occurred during an off-the-record meeting in Algiers.

French officials informed their Algerian counterparts of Paris’s decision to back Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara—a move once considered unthinkable.  

“Then it’s over. A rupture,” Algerian officials reportedly responded.  

Since his election in 2017, President Emmanuel Macron has sought to strike an unsuccessful balance with Algeria, navigating colonial past and contemporary crises–relying on his “en même temps” (at the same time) discourse that has often failed him in Algeria and at home.

But Paris’s announcement in July 2023 supporting Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara sent shockwaves through Algiers.  

The disputed territory, which remains unresolved by the United Nations, pits Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.

For Algeria, the announcement marked a betrayal, and it swiftly froze bilateral ties. Cooperation on issues ranging from security to trade now hangs by a thread.  

In Algiers, even analytical reporting on France-Algeria relations has become increasingly risky, Algerian journalist Ihsan El-Kadi confirmed to The New Arab in an interview last November, shortly after his release.

“This is not just another crisis. [Paris] is no longer a partner with disagreements […] it’s now an enemy,” a former Algerian diplomat told TNA on condition of anonymity.