BY: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers Condemns “Unprecedented Judicial Escalation” by Paris, Demands Immediate Release of Detained Diplomat and Accuses France of Undermining Bilateral Rapprochement
Algiers, Algeria | April 14th, 2025 — Algeria has formally expelled twelve French diplomats, giving them 48 hours to leave Algerian territory. The decision, announced on Monday by the French media, follows what Algiers has condemned as a “flagrant violation” of diplomatic norms and international conventions by French authorities after the arrest and indictment of an Algerian consular official in France.
According to reliable French media outlets including BFMTV and Le Figaro, this sweeping expulsion order—the most severe of its kind since Algerian independence in 1962—comes as a direct response to the detention of three Algerian nationals by French judicial authorities. Among the detainees is a consular staff member stationed at the Algerian Consulate in Créteil, accused of involvement in the alleged abduction of a controversial fugitive, the social media influencer and convicted criminal known as Amir Boukhors, alias “Amir DZ.”
The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has vigorously rejected the accusations, branding them as “baseless, politically motivated, and legally absurd.” In a sharply worded communiqué issued over the weekend, the ministry expressed “utter astonishment” at the arrest, noting that the consular official was apprehended on public grounds without any prior notification through diplomatic channels—a move Algeria categorically denounced as a “gross infringement” of consular immunities and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
“The arrest and subsequent pretrial detention of our consular employee constitute a clear breach of international law and an egregious provocation,” stated the Algerian Foreign Ministry. “We reject, both in form and substance, the French judiciary’s rationale, which is not only flimsy but outright insulting to Algeria’s sovereignty.”
Algeria further lambasted the French authorities for initiating a “hostile and calculated judicial campaign,” pointing to a deliberate obstruction to the renewed momentum in Franco-Algerian relations, which had recently begun to thaw following high-level talks between President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“This judicial escalation is no coincidence,” the ministry emphasized. “It is clearly intended to derail the process of diplomatic normalization and mutual cooperation agreed upon by the two heads of state during their recent telephone exchange.”
Algerian officials also highlighted the suspicious timing of the incident, which unfolded shortly after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot’s visit to Algiers, during which he spoke optimistically of a ‘new chapter’ in bilateral ties.
However, this optimistic tone appears to have been undermined by what Algerian officials are calling “malicious sabotage” from within certain segments of the French establishment, particularly from right-wing and anti-Algerian circles.
“The coordinated exploitation of a convicted criminal—widely known for his ties to subversive and extremist groups—as a tool of diplomatic provocation is both cynical and deeply troubling,” read the statement from the Foreign Ministry. “France’s hesitancy to respond to Algeria’s legitimate extradition requests concerning this individual is well documented. That same criminal is now being wielded as a political weapon against our diplomatic personnel.”
Algeria has demanded the “immediate and unconditional” release of its detained consular officer and has reaffirmed its “absolute commitment” to ensuring the protection of its diplomatic personnel abroad.
“We will not tolerate such transgressions, and we will not allow this case to pass without serious consequences,” the statement concluded.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, for his part, has publicly appealed for a reversal of Algeria’s decision, describing the expulsion of diplomats as “unjustified.” But in Algiers, that plea has fallen on deaf ears.
Algeria’s firm stance signals not only a recalibration of its diplomatic posture toward France but also an assertion of its national dignity in the face of the flagrant neocolonial overreach. As one senior Algerian official put it anonymously: “France must finally learn that Algeria is not a vassal state. Sovereignty is not negotiable—especially not in exchange for appeasement to criminal provocateurs.”
