France expels 12 Algerian officials amid diplomatic tensions for tits selling

PARIS (AP) – France said on Tuesday it will expel 12 Algerian diplomatic officials the day after Algeria announced the expulsion of the same number of French officials to escalate tensions between the two countries.

Algeria said on Monday that it had deported 12 French officials as French authorities arrested an Algerian consular official in the kidnapping case, but relations between the two sides have been deteriorating since last summer. At that time, France shifted its position to support Morocco’s plan of autonomy over the Western Sahara.

Tensions have reached a peak after Algeria’s arrest of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, an outspoken critic of Islamism and the Algerian regime. He was sentenced to five years in prison since then – and he later appealed.

A statement from the French Presidential Palace said that in addition to what French officials said was “symmetry” that calibrated the expulsion of 12 Algerian officials, the French ambassador to Algeria was also recalled to his home for consultation.

It said the Algerian authorities were responsible for “the cruel deterioration in our bilateral relations.”

French counter-terrorism prosecutors said a total of three Algerian nationals were arrested last week and filed “killing or arbitrary detention … preliminary charges related to terrorist affairs.”

The group is allegedly involved in the April 2024 kidnapping of Algerian influencers Amir Boukhors or Amir DZ, a famous critic of the Algerian government with 1.1 million followers on Tiktok.

About two weeks ago, French President Emmanuel Macron said tensions briefly eased by Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune. French officials said they agreed to revive bilateral relations.